Love is Just a Word
by chickatita
Summary: Ryo/Saku. "She refused to comply; he wouldn’t even understand why she was upset. No, he would never understand the memories he had just brought back." Ch 8 up. Reviews of all kind welcome.
1. People are People

Love is just a word

--

"_The love that lasts the longest is the love that is never returned."_

–_William Somerset Maugham_

--

"I do" he said happily, looking at her with all of the love in his heart.

"And do you, Sophia Marie, take Takeshi Momoshiro to be your husband; to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, till death do you part?" The reverend asked cheerfully, excited that the wedding was almost over; soon there would be food! Momo could easily sympathize with him.

--

They had decided to get married at a Baptist church; she, who was raised in the 'Bible-belt' part of America, had insisted. He had agreed on the basis that he and his family were never really religious; his mother and father had gotten married in a casino motel church and they were one of the happiest married couples he had ever met.

But really, it didn't matter to him. As long as they were together he didn't care how, or why, or where. He loved her. He had never wanted anything more than he did this wedding. It had taken a bit of persuasive arguing to get his parents on his side. They had told him that it was going too fast, that he should slow down and get to know her better. Well he knew everything about her that he needed to; he loved her and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Everything else was just water under the bridge. He supposed it was a bit quick, his parents were probably just a little shell shocked. But the moment he first laid eyes on her, from across the bleachers at Ryoma's tennis match, he knew she was the one.

He had gone to America to visit Ryoma, where he was greeted warmly and invited to one of his tennis matches. There he sat on the sidelines to get a front row seat to watch the tennis prince humiliate the competition and provide occasional fan service, such as winking at the spectators or taking off his shirt and throwing it at the screeching masses.

She had caught his eye at first simply because she, unlike the rest of the female population at the game, was not drooling after Ryoma. In fact, he saw her roll her eyes at him! A girl who could show any form of annoyance or distain toward Ryoma was a hero in his book. Then she, by chance, had turned her head so her eyes had met his… and the rest was history. He went over to introduce himself; they had talked, laughed, and exchanged numbers. She had spoken fluent Japanese as soon as she noticed his rather poor English skills. She had an American mother and she, like Ryoma, had grown up in Japan and then had moved to America where her father had found more and better opportunities awaiting him. They bonded instantly, in their first conversation he learned they both loved tennis, food, thought Ryoma was an arrogant brat (but loved him anyway), and they both were very competitive. It only escalated from there and he liked her more with each passing day.

He went back to Japan when his trip was over. That was a lonely time for Momo, but he got through it by calling her every week. Then she, loving and selfless as she was, decided to continue her studies in Japan. There they were free to truly be together. They dated a short but blissful time, and then when he found the perfect moment; he proposed, she said yes, and they were engaged.

Momo had invited Ryoma to the wedding. He asked him to be his best man; the prince had, after all, brought them together. But fate interfered and Ryoma had a big match at Wimbledon that he couldn't afford to miss just to fly to Japan. Ryoma played it coolly, claiming that it wasn't a big deal; he would just come to their next wedding. But Momo could tell that it bothered the tennis prodigy that he couldn't be there on his best friend's big day, and that moved him almost to tears, especially when Ryoma sent his wedding gift of airline tickets to America with a note 'Drop by later so I can kiss the bride.' He got all choked up just thinking about it.

So the service went on without Ryoma. His best man instead was Eiji, who was slightly miffed at being only his second choice for best man (But _I've_ known you _longer_, nya!!), but got over it when he found out he would get to walk down the aisle with Sakuno Ryuzaki, the maid of honor.

His fiancé had gotten along so well with his family and friends, it pushed him to propose all the sooner. She and Sakuno had become fast friends and he knew that she loved Sakuno as much as he, who had known her for most of his life. But even he was shocked when she said that she wanted Sakuno as her maid of honor.

'_Don't you want to give that title to a childhood friend?'_ he had asked after she first dropped the bomb on him.

'_Sakuno-Chan cares more about me than any of my childhood friends did, and besides; I picked out my bridesmaids' dresses thinking of her.'_

Momo had agreed slightly bewildered, but happy none-the-less. Sakuno sure was surprised; when she found out her part in the wedding she actually fainted from shock. Boy was that funny, even better was the fact that Fuji got it all on tape. He had taken it upon himself to document their entire wedding since the day it was announced. From then on, whether it was picking the flowers or choosing the band, Fuji followed them; silent, but sort of symbolic in a way. Capturing those moments leading up to the wedding…

…even now during the service, he saw Fuji on the side with his video camera on a tripod.

He gave a charming smile and winked right at the camera; got to preserve this wonderful moment in his life for future generations. He looked out at audience, at all of his friends and family members. He saw his mother and father; his sister Suki, and his brother Keichi; Eiji and the rest of his tennis team, minus Ryoma. He looked at Tomoka in one of the front-row pews; she was sitting next to Horio, who gave him a lazy grin. He threw him a last grin in return before he turned back to the reverend as he was asked the question that would determine his entire future.

"I do." Gods of course I do, how could I not? This woman is the light of my life, how could I live without her?

He turned to look into her eyes and was slightly surprised to see she wasn't smiling, she wasn't even looking up; she had her eyes on the ground and had an unreadable expression on her face.

--

The reverend was now casting an awkward look around the hall; the bride's silence was throwing him off. Normally couples answered this question right away, this was the only easy part of the sermon; the only part where everyone knew just what to say and do. 'I do and kiss the bride' it's that simple- why was this girl making it so hard?

A foot away Momo had different things on his mind. Was she okay? Was she dizzy? It was awful hot in this room. Maybe he should tell someone to get her a glass of water; she didn't look too comfortable…

Finally; after it seemed like an eternity later to Momo, she spoke.

"I…I…don't…" She said sadly. The crowd gasped their eyes all wide with shock. Momo was really confused now, what was she talking about?

"What-" He started but was interrupted by her.

"I'm sorry; really I am, but… I can't marry you…when we were going out…I liked you and you liked me…I was happy with that…but then you told me you loved me and you wanted to marry me…I knew I should be happy…but…I don't love you…I like you, you're pretty fun…but I don't love you...and I definitely can't marry you…I'm sorry…"

He didn't understand…he couldn't comprehend…it was too painful…

…so he played dumb.

"What…What are you talking about? I-I love you and you love me. Remember?" he said shakily, a slight note of desperation in his voice.

She looked at him, a sad and pitying look in her eyes. "I don't remember…because I never loved you." With that she turned and ran back down the aisle; her white dress billowing behind her like cloud, and, like a cloud; she blew away, never to return to him the same again.

He just stood at the alter staring after her, he watched as chaos reigned in the hall; Most people started chattering excitedly, some inappropriately so; some people ran out after the fleeing woman in white, some tried to talk to him and give him consoling words; some just stared in shock, his parents were part of that category, the reverend was trying to talk to his parents; offering his condolences and promising to pray for their family and their loss at his next sermon. Sakuno's pet dog; a large black and white Great Dane named 'Moose' who had acted as ring barer, barked noisily and pulled at his leash; he had never liked Sophia. He watched Fuji pull out a second camera, leaving his camcorder on the tripod, and stalk out the door after his bride-to-be…or bride-that-was-to-be…

…he felt a single tear run down his cheek…

…then another…

…and another…

Soon the flood-gates were open and tears poured out his eyes; digging salty red channels down his cheeks, and his nose was running like a little kid's, but he just continued to stand and stare after his ex- fiancé, not saying anything, not moving, not even breathing. When he did finally breathe out of necessity, he felt hurt and sorrow wash over him and practically drown him in a tidal wave of pain.

He suddenly felt utterly disgusting and repulsive. He must be horrible, he must be ugly, and he must be sickening as the dirt beneath her feet. Why else would that wonderful, beautiful and lovely woman cruelly leave him? She couldn't stand to love him, so he must be hideous; definitely not good enough for an angel like her.

With those thoughts there came a nauseating sensation in the pit of his stomach. He gasped and flung himself at the nearest large vase of flowers, fell to his knees and retched in it. He vomited until his stomach was empty, then he just dry heaved; willing his ugliness to leave his body along with the bile.

Someone came up and kneeled quietly next to him, rubbing his back gently, silently waiting for his nausea to subside. He finally pulled his face out of the vase and turned his head toward the person stroking his back and peered at them through the ruined bouquet of flowers.

He saw Sakuno looking utterly ridiculous in her puffy pastel blue dress patting his back with hands clad in white-silk gloves that went all the way up to her elbows. She sat, her face covered with way more make up on than she needed, which was none, and her wavy auburn hair braided and twisted up in intricate curls and twists leading into a bun in the back. It looked like her hair was pinned into crop circles on top of her scalp. All things that he knew his ex-lover had picked out, just for this moment, the moment that they were supposed to be married.

He felt the repulsiveness wash over him again and had to duck his head back into the vase for another round of gasping, coughing, and dry-heaving. Sakuno just sat there and continued her ministrations.

Finally, when his whole body was sore, sweaty, and aching from the strain of throwing up and heartbreak, he found he didn't want to take his face out of the soiled plant. He didn't want to look into the eyes of his ex's maid of honor and see the pity in her face or hear her apologies. He didn't want her to see the ugliness that his fiancé obviously saw; surely it must be showing now that his face was red, puffy, covered in tears, snot, sweat, and bile. Surely she would see what his bride-to-be must have seen, now that he was kneeling on the grubby church floor covered in his own fluids.

As if she read his mind she reached her hand over and tenderly took his chin, pulled it gently from the flowers and vase. He still refused to look her in the eyes and instead chose to stare around the room at her lap, the floor, or the top of her head. She didn't say anything; she just pulled a handkerchief from a hidden pocket from her dress and cleaned the bile and saliva away from his chin and mouth. She then brought the handkerchief toward his nose and told him quietly to 'blow'. He obeyed and then she wiped his nose, he probably looked like a child the way she was babying him, but right now he was beyond caring. She placed the smooth cloth to the side and instead began to wipe the sweat from his brow with the palm of her hand, using her silky white gloves as towels, and then proceeded to mop tears from his cheeks. When his face was finally cleansed to her liking, she pulled off her gloves and put her hands on his shoulders and ducked her head to look in his face, which was still pointed toward the floor. Before she could, however, he stubbornly squashed his eyes closed and turned his face toward the ceiling, then shrugged her hands off hoping to deter her efforts. Nothing happened for a minute and he risked opening his eyes a little and glancing around, but he suddenly felt a small hand grab his spiky hair and jerk his head downward.

He looked at Sakuno's face in surprise at her out of character roughness and ended up gazing directly into her eyes.

But they didn't hold the pity or the disgust he feared. They showed only love and concern for him. He also saw a kind of protectiveness that he had seen in her only once before when she defended Tomoka Osakada against Horio's insults that had apparently touched an unseen nerve.

Sakuno cared for him, whereas his girlfriend did not.

New emotions accompanied his other pains and swiftly flooded him. He was suddenly overwhelmed by gratefulness for his friends like Sakuno and Eiji (who was currently ushering people away from Momo), and a fresh wave of sorrow filled him for the fact that Sakuno, his old tennis coach's granddaughter, cared more about him than his fiancé did. He tried to block all of his feelings and force the fresh wave of tears that blurred his eyes back into his tear ducts. Then Sakuno stared deep into his eyes, again overwhelming him with her care and affection, and said in her quiet comforting voice, "It's okay to cry, I'm right here; and I promise I won't tell anybody." and gave him a small ironic smile.

So he let the emotions and pain take control and wash over him. His vision blurred with tears; angry, frustrated and sorrow-filled tears, as well as grateful tears. He wrapped his arms around her small frame and buried his face between her shoulder and the crook of her neck and he wept, blubbered like a baby was more accurate, with great sobs shaking his and Sakuno's body for what seemed like hours. He felt small in Sakuno's warm and comforting arms, even though he was a foot-and-a-half taller and probably 100 lbs heavier, he felt safe from the world if only for a moment.

--

Moose, who had broken free from his leash, trotted over and stood next to Eiji. They both kept a respectful distance while watching his mistress and Momo's interlocked forms. His ears went back; he whimpered quietly and nudged Eiji's hand with his nose. Eiji patted him on the head and comforted the dog as best he could. "It's okay boy; they're both fine. Momo just needs some time, and Sakuno…needs a vacation." With that an idea came to him and he silently thought out a plan as chaos continued to reign in the house of God.

--

"Dammit!" Tomoka swore violently and tossed her now broken, red, leather, high-heeled shoes across the sidewalk in aggravation. She had been part of the party who had run after that stupid bitch as she took off.

As she was in heels she didn't get very far.

She composed herself and adjusted her hot-red dress as Horio trudged back to her panting and sweating like an animal.

"Man, that bastard Fuji can run like a bitch!" He spat while desperately loosening his tie. "The 'bitch in white' got in a cab and he's keeping up with her!"

"Naw baby;" Tomoka cooed sympathetically, "It's just you; I told you, you should jog with me in in the park. Maybe then you can lose your beer belly."

"Beer belly?! You kiddin' me this shit is all muscle!" He said and raised his arms in a flex.

Tomoka gave him a disgusted look at sight of his now sweat-stained suit. "Why the hell did you run in it!? That's a rental you know! Now look at it, I'm gonna have to pay to dry clean that piece of shit!"

"What'd you want me to run down the street naked?" he said with a smirk. Though he complied and started to unbutton his shirt.

"Yeah, and grind up a pole too while you're at it." She replied and looked back down the sidewalk anxiously. "I think we better get back to Momo. I don't think he'll be taking things well."

"...Didja see his face?" Horio said and pulled off his shirt, his tone matching her anxious one as they started to stomp back to the chapel. She was barefoot in a short, sleeveless, glittering, fiery red dress; while he was half-naked and draping his sweat soaked shirt and jacket over his shoulder. They both silently linked arms and prayed for their friend as they turned a corner toward the wedding gone wrong.

--

Fuji stalked back into the main church hall adjusting the camera blackly, his sour mood showing plainly on his face.

He had gone to give the bride a good talking to about timing and priorities; maybe even talk her out of her decision. But that horrible woman just seemed to be relieved that she wasn't going to be married to Momo. He would have to delete all of the footage he had of their conversation; the things she said made even Fuji feel sick. It seemed as if what she said in the church was just the edited version of her true feelings. What was wrong with this woman? She seemed to want to get this far in planning the wedding just so she could drop Momo like a ton of bricks.

It left a horrible taste in his mouth.

He had thought something was wrong while he was filming them; whenever she talked about the wedding it never quite reached her eyes. She always sounded as if it was just nonsensical drabble- like it they were talking about leprechauns and unicorns ruling the earth. He had never really trusted that woman. Now he understood why and he wished he had talked Momo out of the wedding before, when he had the chance.

But Momo always looked so happy when they were together…

It would have taken a betrayal as horrible as this to shake Momo awake and bring him to his senses.

--

I do not own prince of tennis/tennis no oujisama.


	2. So What

Love is just a word

_--_

"_One of the hardest things in life is watching the person you love, love someone else."_

--

Contrary to popular belief, Ryoma eventually realized there was more to life than tennis and beating his father. It definitely took time for him to notice the rest of the world; but hormones seemed to hit him like a downhill bus with broken brakes.

At least that's what it seemed like to Sakuno.

One day he was brushing off his fan club's attentions like annoying flies and the next he was actually encouraging them and openly flirting with them.

She had hoped, perversely, that he was really mocking them in some strange way; by giving them hope and then tearing them down; but no, since that day his eyes were practically glued to the feminine hopefuls in his life.

But not her; no, never her.

It was okay though, or normal at least; she had damned herself a few years back when she had 'given up on him' and decided that friendship was better than being the annoying granddaughter of the coach. Once she had decided that; the stuttering stopped, the nervous playing with hair and skirt stopped, the blushing-at-any-and-every-moment stopped and she found she was very relaxed around him.

She, and consequently Tomoka, had joined him and his freshmen friends at lunch one day and struck up a conversation; one thing lead to another and they all went out to their favorite burger place where they chatted, joked and placed bets on the winners of the next tryouts for regular spots; they had been good friends ever since. He was easy enough to be friends with, not like Tomoka with her boisterous ways or Horio with his braggadocio attitude.

No, before his hormonal realization, he pretty much kept to himself and showed the minimal amount of compassion and emotion required to keep friends and stay on the good side of teachers. Sakuno and the rest of their little group of freshmen friends accepted this as the norm with very few exceptions.

Though when he offered to help her a little with her tennis, a reward for achieving a regular spot on the girls' tennis team, she lost her head; forgot her promise to herself and was thrilled. She had thought that maybe she was just the tiniest bit special to him and that maybe; just maybe, he wanted to help her to get closer to her.

But the day the lessons started, the err of her thoughts was shoved rather roughly in her face as she was introduced to a side of Ryoma she found rather unflattering and unpleasant, to say the least.

She met the demon tennis coach, nay the tennis nazi! He was a perfectionist that was certainly true, unless she did it right he would make her repeat it a hundred times. Or run laps with heavy weights on her arms and legs.

After he offered her help, there was universal outrage from his friends. Horio especially put up a big fuss.

"I have known you for longer and have two more years of tennis experience than she does! I've been asking you for coaching forever; it's not fair!" Sakuno begged to differ that she was actually the first person he met from school in Japan, but at that point she was desperate to get Ryoma's spotlight as far away from her as humanly possible. After more whining Horio finally got his way and he, Katsuo, and Katchiro joined her tennis lessons from hell.

People thought her grandmother was a tough coach; at least she told her pupils what she wanted.

Ryoma, used to hiding his plots and thoughts from opponents in a tennis match, had the nasty habit of not telling anyone what he wanted them to do. Whether he wanted more spin on the ball, more power in the swing, less arc in the air; he never breathed a word of it to her. She supposed she had it easy compared to the boys, they all just got smacked into position by Ryoma's racket. He apparently was too much of a gentleman to hit her, so instead, he would just continually insult her as she tried various swings to attempt to find praise in the hail of criticisms. She could tell she was getting close when he moved from insulting her general appearance and character, to her stance. She had only gotten it perfect a few times and when that happened he would sigh and say,

"Now if only your hips weren't so wobbly and your hair wasn't so long…" She had never heard the end of that sentence; but sometimes as a sort of pathetic, self-indulging game, she would think of ways he would fill it in with something romantic or at least complementary.

'_Now if only your hips weren't wobbly and your hair wasn't so long you would be the best on the team and I'd marry you on the spot.'_

But the likeliness of him ever saying something like that to her grew less and less with each passing day.

Maybe it was just her, because she was such a pushover, but he always seemed to be extra hard on her. Sure, he tortured the other three boys to the point where they were begging to let them quit the private lessons, but he seemed to get a sort of sick pleasure out of her pleading for a break. And they call Fuji a sadist.

The most puzzling thing about these lessons was that it didn't change things at all, at least in school life. He still let them copy his homework, which she desperately needed with the hours that Ryoma's tennis hell took up. He never even mentioned his teachings outside the lessons themselves, even after his schedule became too busy and he fortunately had to let them go on their merry way he never brought up the lessons again. He still was friends with them and even congratulated her whenever she won matches as a regular, which happened more frequently with his guidance. Though the training was torture she became much better at tennis and was even elected assistant captain. But when he was coaching, the moment he caught her in her tennis uniform, her ass was his, and he certainly had his wicked way with it.

She never thought there would be a day when she would treasure those hellish moments with him, let alone that she would wish they would come back. That time came the moment those damn hormones came barreling around the corner of his life and slapped him upside the face.

When he finally took a notice to the thrumming estrogen filled populous around him, he really took notice. His cocky nature merged well with his good looks and turned him into a prime-time playboy. No girl was exempt from his dating lineup, that is except for Sakuno; his old, near, and dear friend. Even Tomoka traitorously entered the fray when she announced that she wasn't interested in Ryoma anymore, and that she hadn't been for a while. She liked someone else and she wouldn't tell anyone, even Sakuno. This apparently intrigued Ryoma and made her free game since this guy wasn't stepping up. So he then flirted with her, which she returned before playfully shooting him down. This developed into a habitual game that Sakuno dreaded being apart of.

"Hey Tomo-Chan, what are your plans tonight?" Ryoma would usually start.

"Nothing that you're involved in, I assure you." She would counter in while looking up through her eye-lashes attractively.

"That's too bad; we should really fix that one of these days." Then they would both laugh and continue to talk to each other like that; Tomoka with her eyes half lidded and Ryoma smirking and raising his eye brows seductively.

Sakuno, and Horio for some reason, would usually stand behind them and make gagging gestures.

Another annoying habit that Ryoma had gained when his lower brain was activated was that he loved to talk about his date's attractive qualities even though he and the rest of the world knew that he was just going to dump her the next day to move on to the next girl.

This one had a rack out to _there_.

That one had amazing long legs.

This one had these blue eyes that just popped.

That one had nice full lips.

This one was really tan.

That one had short blonde hair that felt cool to touch.

And this one had a long tongue and really knew how to use it, if you know what I mean.

Sakuno was forced to sit helplessly through these unofficial jibes at her. Maybe she was vain for thinking that they were targeted to offend her but she didn't trust the fact that all of the qualities he chose, she seemed to lack. The only thing she could do when he started to talk about his date was throw in some sort comment about him being a sexist pig before he would seem to ignore her completely and recount every detail of his date with the girl to his male followers.

When that happened she would pout her not-so-full lips; roll her not popping, not blue eyes; fix her not short and blonde hair, before crossing her arms over her rack which was definitely not out to _there. _She would then walk away on her short legs and wobbly hips; with her pale skin, and not talk to Ryoma with her tongue that she apparently didn't know how to use properly, if you know what I mean.

A girl could only take so much abuse before she starts fighting back. So she decided to start her own dating line up.

She went all out, letting her hair out of the braids and styling it, glossing up her lips and adding just the right amount of makeup. She remade her prudish wardrobe too. She couldn't do much since they wore uniforms in school but she found if she undid a few buttons on her blouse and pulled her skirt just a little higher…

Well needless to say the effect was immediate. She didn't realize how little she needed to do to have lesser men pulling at her skirt.

Horio, shockingly enough, was the first to actually notice her change of attire; or at least first to express it vocally. He was also the first man to actually ask her out, which lead to a succession of fairly awkward dates and clumsy gestures of affection between them. Neither of them was really in it for the other, they both were together to gain the attention of another. She was attempting the impossible; to force-feed Ryoma a taste of his own medicine. While Horio, as he later confided in Sakuno, was trying to get Tomoka's attention away from her mystery man to look his way. But their relationship didn't get them anywhere, so they decided to end it before they embarrassed themselves.

After that strange turn of events, she was chomping at the bit and ready to kick some prince of tennis tail.

She decided to start with someone easy, someone she could understand and handle accordingly- a jock. So, the first day in her warrior princess battle mode she moseyed over to a sophomore, star player on the basket ball team no less; batted her eyelashes a few times and bada-bing-bada-boom she had a date with him.

Of course she thought she could, and should, revel in her victory and brag to her friends, which happened to include Ryoma. What a disaster that turned out to be.

The minute she mentioned her date, Ryoma was on her like a like a cat on a wounded rabbit.

"Oh really, a date with that Isumo guy huh?" It was Isumi, but she was shocked he was even close. "I haven't really talked to him, is he nice?"

Well he was a good looking star athlete; he was as nice as he needed to be to keep his spot on the team. "Yeah, he's nice…" She said instead.

"Is he smart? I assume he takes a lot of hits on the basketball court…" He offered suggestively.

She bristled before replying in a sickly sweet tone. "Well, Ryoma-kun, I really wouldn't know; I'm not in any classes with him as he is a sophomore and I am a freshman." If only she realized then that this was all just a trap; just the cat playing with its wounded pray while it slowly, but surely was backed into the proverbial corner.

"A sophomore, huh? You know I'm going out with a sophomore now too; Yumi Aio, maybe you know her?" She had to stop her face from falling there. Yumi Aio, the prettiest girl in school. She was also the dumbest, but for her face and body, most of the girls at school would trade in their brains any day.

"Not formally, no." She forced herself to say. "Is she nice?" She said in a pathetic attempt to keep her composure.

"Very." Was all he said, but it was enough for her stomach to turn into knots and be driven close to tears. Even if she knew that they could never be together, did he have to be so stupid and inconsiderate? Did he even realize how much that hurt?

She inhaled sharply to keep her feelings in check before attempting to end the discussion abruptly so she could escape from him. "Fascinating, but I have to go and find out when Isumi is picking me up tonight." She tried to stomp off, but Ryoma grabbed her arm and forced her to stay in the conversation.

"You have a date with him tonight? What a coincidence; I have a date with Yumi tonight." As if he didn't have a date every single night of the week; with doubles on weekends.

She wanted to get out of there, from the taunting stare of their companions to the haunting smirk on Ryoma's face, she wanted to escape it. "Amazing, I don't believe it! But I really have to-"

"Why don't we double?" That made her freeze in her tracks. Several images came to mind. The rabbit was cornered.

Double date with Ryoma; She and Isumi sitting there awkwardly while Yumi and he made-out. God no, kill me now!

"Uhh I really don't think that would work…"She tried feebly.

"Well why not? ...Unless you were lying about going out with Isumi..." the cat pounced.

She didn't take well to that accusation. "What!? You think I'm lying!?" She practically screamed at him, while ripping her arm from his grasp. He didn't need to anchor her here anymore; he had her attention.

"I didn't say that…" he said calmly, placing his cool tennis mask over his face.

"But you were thinking it." She said, her voice low and dangerous, daring him to deny it. He backed off a bit from her tone. The dying rabbit attacked and landed a hit, the cat recoiled.

"I'm just saying, I've never seen you two together…" Before Sakuno could tear apart his argument with 'I've never seen you talking with any of your many girlfriends in school, but I don't call you a dirty, rotten liar.'; Isumi, the man of the hour, the reason for she and Ryoma's current threatening stances; decided to drop by and say 'hi' to his date for the night.

"Ah, Sakuno-Chan! I've been looking for you; I wanted to know what time I should pick you up tonight." She was thankful for his impeccable timing and shot the perturbed looking Ryoma a triumphant smirk before saying "Anytime after six is fine with me Isumi-kun."

The cat is distracted and the rabbit gains a chance of escape.

"Okay, six-thirty is fine with me if you don't mind…" Isumi replied while eyeing her in a way that she felt extremely uncomfortable with, but thought that it was best not to call him out on it, so she could preserve the 'happy couple' look to beat Ryoma.

"Hey Isumo-Chan," Ryoma cut in suddenly, acting like his old friend, when he wasn't even getting his name right. "What would you say to a double date?"

The rabbit realizes too late it's a trap and tries to turn in the other direction to escape the cat's claws.

"It's Isumi." He replied coldly, and Sakuno thought, for the first time, that this relationship might work out.

The rabbit is able to dodge the claws but doesn't notice the cat crouching for another pounce.

"Of course it is. Forgive me. But think about it, a double date; you, me, the lovely Sakuno-Chan," he turned and gave her a quick wink. "And my date, Miss Yumi Aio."

The cat pounced and delivered the killing blow.

Isumi's eyes widened and he looked interested. "You…and Yumi?"

Sakuno could only watch, like an almost-dead rabbit, as her hope for escape drained away like life's blood.

Isumi, who she was decidedly dumping after this date, suddenly nodded his head in agreement. "Sure, I guess we could double tonight. Where do you wanna meet?"

So they continued to discuss tonight's plans, and while Ryoma kept his eyes on Isumi and seemed to be talking to him; she felt the catty grin on his victorious visage was meant for her.

When he had prevailed with this come-from-behind victory, Ryoma; it seemed, couldn't help but rub Sakuno's nose in it. Even after he got his way; won this double date, which he knew would be miserable for her. After they had practically made all of the plans for tonight, without asking her; when she was standing right next to them. Even when he knew that he had successfully turned her date against her, and that she couldn't back out of it without lying badly or just looking like a total bitch. As if knowing all of that wasn't enough; after plans were secured for the night, he turned to her; almost as an after-thought and had to nerve to say, "That's okay with you, right Sakuno-Chan?" For the first time in her life she wanted to punch him, preferably break his nose, good looks be-damned.

She had to take a deep breath, count to ten and beg for the patience of the gods.

"Sure, Ryoma-kun should be fun…" She said and tried not to look like the end of the world was coming. She apparently satisfied him because he smirked, turned back to Isumi, and continued to talk about the restaurant they were going to tonight.

Horio shot her a sympathetic look, which she responded to with a brave, hopeless sort of smile.

Yumi was pretty that was for sure, Sakuno could barely keep her eyes off her; her poor small minded date didn't have a chance. Though in her defense, she was sitting across from Yumi and was an indirect line of sight; Isumi was staring rather rudely, in her opinion, at Yumi from his position between her and Sakuno at the table they were sitting at. Contrastingly, Ryoma hardly paid any attention to his date; which really pissed-off Sakuno. If this example of perfection in the female form wasn't good enough for the pampered prince, what was?

But for what Yumi had in looks, she lacked in brains indefinitely. Yumi didn't seem to really notice the stares or lack of, because she was so concentrated on her food. She had ordered a seemingly simple dish- spaghetti; but Yumi had refused to use the given fork, claiming that she wasn't used to them and preferred chopsticks. So the seemingly simple dish turned into a test of Sakuno's patience.

Yumi would take a single strand between her chopsticks and, like a child, slurp that single strand until the end. Before grabbing another strand and starting the whole ordeal over again; Sakuno was nearly at her wits-end. Each slurp of the pasta was a graying of her hair, she was sure of it.

So Sakuno stabbed viciously at her House salad as Yumi slurped, Isumi stared, and Ryoma ignored them both and attempted to engage her in conversation. She listened and answered him half-heartedly, her attention focused on the statuesque figure that was ageing her prematurely.

She watched as Yumi slurped yet another strand of spaghetti and tomato sauce splattered all over her chin, nose, previously white shirt and her massive breasts. Massive was not an exaggeration either, Sakuno estimated her bra size was the same as her grade average, 'F plus'.

She saw, in the corner of her eye, her date actually letting a bit of drool slide out of his mouth before quickly wiping it away. That really drove her over the edge, she was raised by her grandmother who was very strict when it came to manners; but to have her date for the evening actually drooling while rudely and blatantly staring at someone else's date was just ridiculous! Something had to be done.

So she sat up quickly and said sharply "Yumi!" The girl in question jumped in surprise and dropped the noodle she was directing toward her mouth, which fell with a plop and splattered more sauce onto her shirt.

Their two male companions were also surprised by her outburst. Isumi, startled from his daze, dropped his own chopsticks onto his plate with a loud clatter. Ryoma, who had paused in his almost one-sided conversation with Sakuno to take a drink from his soda; gasped, choked, and started coughing and pounding on his chest. A waiter who happened to be passing by slapped his back a few times before Ryoma's breathing evened and advised him to drink more carefully.

"Uh, yeah?" Yumi said, getting over her shock. Sakuno chose to ignore Ryoma's death glare before continuing.

"Let me teach you how to properly use a fork." She then took her salad fork and balanced it in her hand in a delicate manner, to correctly demonstrate the way it's supposed to be held.

"No, I'm okay with my chopsticks." She said flashing Sakuno her pearly whites and flipping her shoulder length black hair behind her ear.

"But you can only eat one noodle at a time; a fork is more efficient." Sakuno insisted.

"Uhm…What's 'if-ish-ant' mean?" She said, once again displaying her childish learning level.

Sakuno replied, unabashed. "It means easier and faster."

"Which one?" Yumi said her eyes wide with confusion. Sakuno saw Ryoma roll his eyes at her response and she wanted to laugh.

'_At least I'm not the only one who notices her words before her body.' _she thought

Sakuno grabbed Yumi's previously unused fork and placed it in her hands. "Just try it." She persisted "I promise you can stop if it's too hard." Yumi immediately looked insulted.

"Too hard? Puh-lease! I wasn't born yesterday; I know how to use a fork." She then fisted the fork and stabbed continuously at her spaghetti, succeeding only in cutting it into tiny pieces.

She looked up at Sakuno with her bright eyes wide and looking close to tears. "It won't stay on the fork…Help me Saku-chan?" She practically whimpered.

Sakuno sighed and was about to help her when she heard her date voice his opinion for the first time.

"Yeah, help her Sakuno-Chan…" She looked over at Isumi and saw a huge and creepy grin on his face as he looked back and forth between the girls as if encouraging them to start making-out.

She glared at him and was about to tell him off when Ryoma beat her to the punch. "Isumo-chan, stop acting like a freak and finish your food so we can head over to the karaoke bar." Isumi glared at him but obeyed anyway and finished his meal quietly.

Sakuno did help her, for she could not ignore a cry for help, and she cut the rest of Yumi's spaghetti up into small pieces for her and asked the waiter for a spoon. This way Yumi could eat without making a mess and without infuriating Sakuno any more than necessary.

"Thanks Saku-chan; I'll remember this way for next time okay? That way I can eat more…what was that word you said...Oh yeah 'ifishant', which means faster and easier; not just one, but both of them." She turned to Ryoma "'Member that, okay Ryo-kun?"

He snorted with laughter. "Of course, but we'll have to practice with the fork until then so you can show off to Saku-chan." Yumi's eyes hardened with determination.

"Yeah, I'll show you Saku-chan; I'm really good with a fork and next time you'll see. I was just having a bad fork day today." She said excitedly.

Sakuno laughed good-naturedly but was holding back a grimace. Yeah, next time. Sure.

There wouldn't be a next time, at least not for Isumi. And with Ryoma's normal dating record there wouldn't be for Ryoma either- he'd be off with some other girl. Yumi was exceedingly pretty and a sweet person at heart, so there'd be plenty of other guys for her.

As for Sakuno…well she was thinking of celibacy at the moment…yeah she could be a nun…or a priestess…with the way her dating record was going she was sure she wouldn't be missing out on much.

They managed to finish their meal without further mishap and then headed over to a karaoke bar that was pretty high class for a first date in Sakuno's opinion. But Ryoma picked it out, so she figured it was just another way to show off.

As soon as they entered, her senses were assaulted by the smell of sweat and stale perfume in the air while her ears were attacked by a heavy base and off-key singing. She scanned the main room though she had to shield her eyes from the bright lights coming from the Dj's control room. It was a rather large room filled with people of all ages, the majority were teenagers because it was such a hot date spot, but she saw older couples and families with young children sitting at tables as well. The second thing she noticed was, of course, the dance floor smack-dab in the middle of the room and all of the teen couples on it; the majority of which were grinding rather intimately.

Looking at some of them she almost felt like she was peeping at some private moment. Oh, great, if Ryoma and Yumi were going to start doing that in front of her she wouldn't be able to watch. Her stomach turned into sickeningly tight knots thinking about it. Before they even found a table her nightmare was brought to life.

"Ohhh Ryo-kun; I love this song, I wanna dance!" Yumi said excitedly while clapping her hands together and bouncing on her toes. Sakuno felt her heart stop.

"Nah; I'm still digesting. You can go ahead and start though." And like a jolt to the chest, her heart was started again.

"Okay," Yumi replied barely listening. "More dance floor for me!" And she ran out into the middle and started bopping along with the music. She looked slightly awkward as she was one of the only ones without a partner, but one glance at her face and you could tell she was having the time of her life.

This was unbelievable; she had to make sure she wasn't hearing things. "You…You don't want to dance?" She asked tentatively.

He shrugged. "Maybe later; right now my stomach still hurts from choking earlier." He replied before giving her a very unnecessary, in her opinion, pointed look.

The image of them dancing came to mind again and her chest tightened once more. Ryoma give-eth and then he take-eth away.

"…'Kay…" She said not even having the heart to conceal her depressed tone. Ryoma shot her a confused look mixed with something she couldn't quite place--not mocking; more insistent.

Isumi wasn't even paying attention to their little exchange and was instead focused on the fourth of their party, the one that was bopping her heart out on the dance floor. Certain areas of her body bopping along with her just a second behind; she had a feeling it was these certain areas that caught Isumi's attention in the first place.

They found a table in the corner that was half booth and got settled, that's when she noticed that Isumi wasn't the only guy who took notice of Yumi's off-time bopping areas; she had captured the attention of most of the guys in the room. Even the ones who were draped with their own dates on the dance floor couldn't keep their eyes off her. Well it wasn't as if she was discouraging stares in her little sleeveless blue dress that started too late and ended too soon. Sakuno pulled her shrug tighter around herself in a subconscious attempt to prevent comparisons between her and the divinely proportioned figure bopping along on the dance floor. The tennis prince, once again, found nothing more fascinating than the area around him and talking with Sakuno. She didn't get it; _her date_ was staring at his date, why wouldn't Ryoma even dignify her with a glance. Was he embarrassed? He shouldn't be; she knew for a fact that he was at least acquainted with the female body. He always bragged about how far he went with his dates, the thought of which turned her cheeks red and made her heart clench tightly.

She knew she was being a little rude for her lack of attention to Ryoma's half forced conversation between them. He had to repeat himself multiple times and almost demand answers or comments to keep her attention. But she couldn't help it… or she didn't want to; she was more than a little cross with him for the way the evening turned out. She was betting he picked out the damn Karaoke bar knowing it was more of a dance club just so he could grind up to Yumi.

Ryoma temporarily surrendered to Sakuno's silence and went to buy a Ponta from the vending machines; that's when Isumi took his chance and slid his chair closer to Sakuno's seat on the bench.

"Hey Sakuno-Chan, wanna dance? We can't let Yumi have all the fun can we?" He asked; an excited, but a suspicious smile spread on his features.

In that instant she felt like a psychic because she could suddenly just tell what he was thinking. She could practically hear every thought going through his head. It sounded something along the lines of… '_I want to dance with Yumi but I can't just dump Sakuno now, not when a three-way is within reach. So I ask her to dance with me, get close to Yumi, get them to make nice to each other, and if I'm lucky we get out of here to my brother's car before Echizen even knows what hit him.'_

She thought she'd snatch away his three-way idea before he got too attached to it. "No thank you; I don't want to get all sweaty." She watched as his face visibly fell.

"Are you sure; Yumi looks a little lonely…" he said; still trying, Sakuno assumed, to get his three-way.

"Well, you go keep her company. It's okay, I don't mind." She said dismissively. He finally got the hint and slunk off to the dance floor to claim the second best prize: Yumi.

Sakuno didn't mind in the slightest, she was going to dump him after this date anyways. But telling him to dance with Yumi was also inadvertently solving another of her problems. The other half of which came marching back from the vending machines; Ponta in hand, he sat himself down on the bench next to her. If Isumi was keeping Yumi busy, then maybe they could prevent the couple from getting on the dance floor together.

"Where'd Isumo go?" Ryoma asked in a bored tone, probably not even expecting an answer.

She gracefully decided to give him her full attention. "He decided he wanted to try his skills on the dance floor--I really didn't feel like getting all sweaty so…" She trailed off hoping he would continue or fill in the blanks himself.

He did, in a less than pleasing way. "You know with that attitude you'll never get better at tennis." He said sternly.

She just rolled her eyes, now happy to direct his attention on her rather than on the bopping figure on the floor.

"Please, this has nothing to do with tennis! I just bought this dress; I'm not going out there and getting sweat and who-the-heck knows what else on it."

"Huh, I thought that was a new one." He observed. Her eyes widened and her cheeks turned a rosy pink color. He noticed she had a new dress? She had to give her head a mental smack and force herself not to get all romantic.

To keep herself and Ryoma in check she responded with sarcasm.

"Oh really? So you have my wardrobe memorized now? Aww I didn't know you cared."

He countered in kind. "Well we've known each other for how many years now? I'd like to think that I know about everything in your closet." He delivered with a smirk. Her cheeks darkened again and she prayed that the lighting in the room would hide her red visage.

She forced herself to trudge on with the conversation. "W-What's with this sudden knowledge of my wardrobe Ryoma-kun? Perhaps you would like to try on my clothes for yourself? Personally, I thought you needed a new look." She said hoping he didn't hear her stutter.

She noticed for the first time how close they were really sitting to each other as he leaned in even closer and breathed in her ear. "Sure, I'll try your clothes on; if you let me take them off you."

She thought her heart would explode for its pounding. She looked up at him, her face beet-red and getting redder when she noticed that their lips were inches apart; their noses were practically touching. Her mind went blank and rushed with thoughts at the same time. Did he really just say that? Did he mean it? He had never talked to her like that before. He was so close.

"Wah?" was all she managed to make her mouth say before the strange trance she was in was broken by laughter.

The laughter of the prince of tennis to be precise. "Wahahahah Oh my god, you-you should see your face!! Bwahahahahah it's friggin' amazing! I didn't think you'd believe me, but that face was fantastic! I've never seen you get so re~d!"

Her face went from flushed with pleasure and romance to fiery red with anger in seconds. She immediately shoved him away from her; finding strength enough to even surprise herself as she shoved the laughing youth off the bench and onto the ground. Ryoma yelped when he hit the ground but his laughter barely slowed. After a minute or two he caught his breath and wiped the tears from his eyes and apologized. "Sorry, sorry; it just was too easy and you know how fun it is to make you blush?"

Sakuno didn't know or care, she pushed past him and charged toward the lady's bathroom wiping angry tears from her eyes as she went. Ryoma leapt up and grabbed her wrist and tried to turn her toward him but she stubbornly faced the other way.

"Wait," He said, still not totally able to get the laughter out of his voice "I'm sorry, that was stupid, don't be mad."

"I'm not mad!" She snapped unconvincingly.

"You sound mad…" he said, sounding serious for the first time.

"Well I'm not; I just have to go to the bathroom! Now let go of me!" She snarled and snatched her hand out of his grasp. She then turned and ran to the bathroom letting the tears fall freely and not caring who saw as long as it wasn't Ryoma Echizen.

If she would have looked back at him she might have seen him run a frustrated hand through his hair and cuss violently.

She didn't know how long she was locked up in that bathroom, but when she came out Ryoma was waiting outside and leaning by the door with a can of Ponta as a token of apology. She took it with a small forgiving smile.

"Sorry, I was acting like an idiot…" He said and truly looked sorry.

"No it was me," She said and took a swig from the can and licked her lips. "I was being too sensitive; I was just annoyed that you noticed my new dress when my date didn't even notice I was wearing clothes."

Ryoma had that odd look on his face again and he ran his hands through his hair roughly and looked away before replying.

"Did…you want me to teach him a lesson…for next time?" He said through gritted teeth, not looking her in the eye.

What was he so mad about? She looked at him quizzically and considered his words and her own before replying.

"Well," she started carefully "There isn't going to be a next time for Isumi."

She certainly didn't expect him to react the way he did. His eyes widened and he took a quick step toward her and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Seriously?" He asked with a matching tone, now looking straight into her eyes.

"Uh yeah" She sputtered still recovering from surprise. "I don't know if you could tell but he's a jerk-off and he's more interested in Yumi's bust line than me." She said with a dark look, daring Ryoma to suggest otherwise.

Once again his reaction surprised her. He laughed a couple times, loud and heartily; she flushed with embarrassment and was about to shove him away when he laid his forehead on her shoulder and sighed.

"Ah Thank God; I was worried I would have to lie to you for that jackass." He said relief flooding his voice.

"Wh-what do you mean?" She said with a blush and a stutter, mentally berating herself for it afterwards.

He lifted his head from her shoulder and looked at her carefully before continuing "Well that asshole split with Yumi and if you really liked him then I sure as hell wasn't gonna tell you."

"What?! Oooh next time I see him I'm gonna sock him one; he was my ride!" She yelled turning her embarrassment into justified anger. He started laughing again and buried his head in the crook of her neck to muffle his laughter. The heat from his breath on her neck and his larger form shaking her with his hilarity gave her goose-bumps.

She needed to say something before he noticed. "Well I'm glad you told me, but I would have been glad you told me either way; whether I liked him or not." She prattled off not needed or expecting an answer. In response, he lifted his head from her shoulder to her relief and chagrin.

"Well I prefer he tells you and breaks your heart instead of me." He replied, defiance clear in his voice.

She stuck out her lower lip in a playful pout. "I would think you were used to breaking girl's hearts by now; you do it on a daily basis you know. Speaking of which, what about you and Yumi; aren't you mad?"

"Nah," he scoffed "I've gone out with her on three different occasions and during all three we've both hooked up with other people by the end of the night."

"What if she didn't want to be with him, should we try to find them?" She said her voice thick with worry.

Ryoma snorted, "Does she look like the type that's gonna say 'no'?"

"Well no….Why do you keep going out with girls like that when you know it won't go anywhere?"

A smirk spread across his face and he grabbed the forgotten Ponta can from her hands and took a swig. "Why do you ask?" He asked cockily while licking his lips "You jealous?"

Her eyes widened with surprise and then narrowed at his nerve. She shrugged off the remaining hand on her shoulder and grabbed the can back from him before chug-a-lugging the rest.

"Never." She said and pushed past him, tossing the can in the recycling bin as she passed it.

"Ah come on; you must be at least a little jealous." He insisted, falling in stride along side her.

"Sure I am a little." She said stubbornly "Everyone wishes they had people tripping over their tongues whenever they walk by at some point in their lives don't they?"

"I don't mean of _me_." He glared as he and she both plopped themselves down next to each other on their bench from earlier. "I mean of the girls I go out with."

"Why should I be jealous of them? If this is a jibe at my looks I don't really give a-"

"No it isn't and you'd be jealous of them because you want to go out with me." He said with a slight urgency to his voice.

"Why do you care so much if I'm jealous or not?" She snapped, embarrassed and hurt by the truth in his words.

"Because I'm really gonna feel like a jackass if I worked hard for months to make you jealous when you never were!" He snarled.

They both froze after he said this.

Sakuno was shocked; did he really just say that? He wanted to make her jealous? This would certainly explain a lot of things. But no, he had never shown any interest in her before. Augh this was like tennis lessons all over again; why can't he just say what he means?!

Ryoma remained silent and he had his tennis mask on; he refused to look her in the eyes and instead chose to stare blankly down at the dance floor. He didn't try to escape, though he looked like he really wanted to; he just sat stiffly, still as a statue.

"Well..." She began cautiously, not entirely trusting her voice. Her heart pounded with excitement despite her slight frustration with him. "You should still feel like a jackass because you acted like one." He turned slowly and looked at her with confusion bright in his eyes.

"But…?" he prompted. His mask started falling from his face as he slowly put two and two together.

"But I suppose I'll have to forgive you; since you only wanted to get my attention. You're like that cat who brings home dead birds just to get a belly-scratching." She finished with a huge grin adorning her face, which was flushed with pleasure.

"Does this mean that you'll go out with me?" He asked with a victorious grin, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, it does." She said and she felt like she was floating, she had never been happier.

Ryoma wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him; he then leaned toward her until he was just a breath away. "You know that means I get to kiss you whenever I want right; and I'm not making that up, this is a standard in boyfriend-girlfriend contracts." He said playfully.

She laughed and replied "Whatever as long as I don't have to scratch your belly."

He stuck out his lower lip in a pout and said "We'll work out the details in the contract later, but I'm not making any promises on that belly thing."

And then he pressed his lips against hers and she swore she didn't need anything else in the world. Nothing else mattered. They eventually had to part for air of course and Sakuno was pleased to find that Ryoma looked just as contentedly dazed as she did.

"That wasn't your first kiss was it?" Those were the first words out of his mouth, post-kiss.

Sakuno eyes widened and then she groaned and grimaced. "Oh you just had to remind me of my first kiss, didn't you?"

"Why what happened?" He asked uneasily.

"It was when Horio and I were going out; ugh that was the most awkward relationship in history!" She groaned again and barely noticed when Ryoma's grip around her waist tightened.

"I don't wanna talk about you and other guys…" he said sulkily.

She giggled "Well you brought it up in the first place; and to think you were worried about _me_ being jealous? What about you?" She teased

"That's the reason why I wanted to make you jealous, so I wasn't the only one. You know; misery loves company and all that." He said and nuzzled her hair.

Sakuno blushed at his attentions before whispering in his ear. "It wasn't my first kiss, but it was much better; trust me." He chuckled and captured her lips again. The rest of that night was filled with talking and laughing and more kisses for them. And Sakuno had never been so happy in her life and was never so glad that her date had left with another woman.

That was the beginning of their relationship, which was filled with lots of smiles and laughter. And there were other firsts together besides kissing. She still blushed at the thought. But she was so happy she hardly knew what to do with herself. The best part was that Ryoma was just as happy to be with her as she was with him. They were together for the rest of their three years in high school and Sakuno couldn't recall ever enjoying school so much.

She didn't think things would ever change, she thought her happily ever after would be just that; forever after.

--

Sakuno shifted uncomfortably on the unfamiliar mattress and pushed at the heavy blankets she was stuck with.

Momo stirred slightly next to her. She froze and prayed he wouldn't wake for the third time.

Someone somewhere took pity on her; he just adjusted the arm around her waist and mumbled something before nuzzling back into his pillow and falling silent again. She sighed in relief and adjusted herself in his arms so they were no longer pressed together so intimately.

She wouldn't be able to sleep tonight that's for sure.

She listened and heard Eiji stirring in the kitchen down the hall. He was there just as a precaution; Momo was emotionally unstable at this point, everyone had insisted. Though she trusted Momo with her life and much more, the thought of spending the night in another man's apartment was a little uncomfortable for her. Besides if Eiji wasn't there to distract him, she wouldn't have gotten the chance to shower and change from her bride's maids dress into her more comfortable sweats.

Momo could scarcely leave her side at this point and the psychologist they had called on the phone had said that it would be inadvisable to leave him for the first few weeks. She grimaced at the thought.

A few weeks of this?

She looked at the clock; three a.m., great. Momo would wake up at frequent intervals from bad dreams and need to be comforted. That's why she was here… in his bed… with him. She would rather be in her own house, but that same psychologist had said that he should be surrounded by familiar and comforting things.

Moose stretched and grunted at the end on the bed where he lay, as oblivious to the world as Momo. Well at least she had him here to comfort her; that dog did wonders to her stress levels. It was usually stressful to own a dog bigger than you, but knowing that he was there and would protect her from harm calmed her immediately.

She sat up gently, careful not to disturb either of her bedmates, and reached for the TV remote control.

She took a deep breath and prayed the volume wasn't loud, poised her finger over the mute button just in case, and then pushed the power button. It thankfully wasn't that loud, but she still muted it right away just in case. Neither of her larger companions stirred and she relaxed and started to channel surf a little. Let's see if there are any decent re-runs on at three a.m.

She happened upon the sports channel, paused, and checked the results running on the bottom of the screen out of habit. She looked at the actual video running and was shocked to see an image of Ryoma Echizen in a post-game interview, pre-recorded from earlier. She jumped and dropped the remote under the blankets; she quickly scrambled around to find it.

When she did, she immediately turned to the next channel and refused to change it for fear of seeing his face again. So she was stuck watching some old documentary on jellyfish.

If there was a choice between watching Ryoma's fantastic celebrity life in America and obscure facts about jellyfish…

…she'd take the jellyfish every time.


	3. Starstrukk

Love is Just a Word

--

"_Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves."_

_-Albert Einstein_

--

Ryoma opened his eyes to a new morning, and immediately shut them again and groaned in dismay.

He cursed quietly and risked peeking one eye open. He glanced lazily around the room and groaned again.

This was not his house.

He was not surprised, he was more annoyed. He had to assess the situation and attain his bearings. He opened his eyes, sat up in the bed, and was immediately forced to grab his head in pain.

After the throbbing in his head subsided he looked around the room.

Purple swirled before his eyes. Nope, definitely not his house.

It was everywhere. He felt like he was suddenly colorblind because all he could see was a wretched purple. Walls, curtains, desks, doors, lights, lamps; this looked like Barney's room. Just how much _did_ he drink last night?

He was glaring down at the violently purple sheets in disgust when he heard a decidedly feminine sigh. That was when all of last night's events came back to him.

That was also when he realized he was naked. He scrunched up his face in distaste. God, he felt disgusting; he really needed a shower.

He quickly rolled out of bed and began to pick up his clothes, which were spread throughout the room. He picked up his shirt and gave it a slight sniff before his nose wrinkled with distaste. After some more quiet searching, he found his cell phone in his pants pocket. His expression softened for a second. He then flipped it open out of habit and winced.

7 New Voicemails. Those were unholy words.

If his manager wanted to contact him this badly he was screwed.

He hurriedly began dressing. He was sitting on the bed and pulling on his pants when he felt a hand on his shoulder and a mouth nipping at his ear. He had to repress a shudder of revulsion.

"Stop it; I have to leave," he said as politely as he could manage. She just leaned in closer and pressed her naked body against him.

"Aw, come on sweetie," she crooned in his ear. "I had fun with you; I'm offering you a free round."

"Get off," he said coldly. He was quickly losing his patience with this woman. He shrugged his shoulder away from her and tried to pull on his shirt.

The tall and voluptuous blonde caught his arm and licked the back of his neck. "Don't be mean," she purred

He jerked his arm away from her and quickly jumped to his feet. He wiped the back of his neck, anger and abhorrence clearly showing on his face. "What's the matter with you?" he snarled in a rage. "I said to get the hell off of me, not lick me like a dog."

"Well you seemed to enjoy it last night," she said unsurely, surprised by his change in demeanor.

"Well that was before I was sober, wasn't it?" He took out his wallet, removed a considerable wad of bills, and tossed them on the bed in front of her. "There's extra there; buy yourself a shower and some breath mints. You smell like a cheap whore."

With that he stormed out, pulling on his shirt as he went.

She sat on the bed, outraged. She was new here; it was only her second week, and one of her first customers was this asshole!

Another tall and voluptuous woman came to the door and peeked in; her hair was a midnight black as opposed to her platinum blonde counter-part sitting on the bed. She tiptoed quietly up to the woman on the bed and sat herself gently next to her. "That's just Ryoma Echizen; he always acts like a jerk, honey, but he'll be back. Just think of him as being more fun when he's drunk. Besides you'll wanna stay on his good side; he tips better than most of our other customers."

The girl nodded in understanding, picked up the cash on the bed, and counted it with a honey-eyed look.

--

As he was storming out he saw many familiar girls peeking out of their rooms and winking or waving at him as he passed. He spotted his opponent from the Wimbledon match passed out in the hallway. The idiot had bet Ryoma about the outcome of their final match. he had offered to treat Ryoma to 'as many drinks and women as he wanted' if he won the final match. So, after he beat the sucker into the ground, of course he demanded to be taken to the Playboy Mansion.

Ryoma ended up paying anyways; at the time, the ex-Wimbledon champion was too drunk to find his nose, let alone his credit card in his wallet. Ryoma didn't mind. He had the money.

"Idiot," he murmured and gave his opponent a nudge with his shoe. He barely stirred. Ryoma shrugged and continued on his way out the door.

That reminded him; how was Momo? He was probably married by now. Hell, he was probably on his honeymoon by now.

He handed the valet his ticket and waited for his car.

When would Momo use his gift and fly over so he could congratulate him?

The boy pulled up in his Royal blue SSC Ultimate Aero.

"This is a nice car…" the boy noted in awe as the car door swung upward, seemingly of its own accord.

No shit. Ryoma thought while suppressing a smirk.

"There are only 25 of this exact model in existence. It's the fastest street legal car in the world, with the ability to go from 0-60 in only 2.7 seconds," he recited with practiced ease, not bothering to conceal his adoring expression as he gazed at the car.

Ryoma smirked and jokingly told the boy not to get drool on the upholstery. The boy let out an embarrassed laugh and surrendered the driver's seat slightly unwillingly.

The tennis prince hopped in, handed the boy his tip and, as a parting gift, showed off his car's speed to the boy as he quickly peeled out and took off down the street and around the corner.

He drove down the streets quietly and wondered more about the wedding. Momo would always call Ryoma and offer him brief details about the events involved in the planning stage of the wedding, but he didn't tell Ryoma what he really wanted to hear. Ryoma could tell he edited some parts, which annoyed the hell out of him. He had called Eiji and got the same response.

All of his friends edited the events so they didn't include a certain person that he was, paradoxically, most curious about.

He had tried to call Fuji, whom he knew would give him the complete and total truth of the events. Ryoma knew for a fact that Fuji would edit nothing, but the bastard wouldn't ever answer his phone these days!

Ryoma picked up his phone and checked it in reflex and once again saw those horrid words.

8 New Voicemails.

Oh my, he missed another call. He really must take his phone off silent one of these days.

He reluctantly reached over and hit the speed dial on his car phone. It rang exactly twice before a man picked up and immediately began a ferocious lecture, "Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in right now?"

"'Good morning' to you too, Bobby." He said sarcastically to his manager.

"I swear, if your ass wasn't making me thousands of dollars a minute, I would kick it out on the street for your attitude," Bobby bellowed in response.

"My ass and I are grateful," he said while opening and munching on one of the energy bars that he had stocked in his car.

He heard a sigh on the other end of the line. "Listen. You were supposed to meet with Nike Corporation almost two hours ago. I told them you must have had some sort of emergency but that you would be back after lunch."

"It's lunch time already?" Ryoma interrupted and then glanced down at the clock on his radio. Sure enough it was eleven forty-three. "Well, I'll be damned. No wonder I'm starving." With that he grabbed another energy bar and a bottle of water from the cooler stuffed between the seats.

"Yes, and they'll be back at twelve so you better get your ass over here or else we could lose a million-dollar contract!" Bobby snarled in agitation.

"Where exactly is 'here'?" he asked, in part to calm down the harassed man.

"I've already programmed it into your GPS; just hit the button and say 'Nike Corporation'," he said, composing himself a little.

"Okay mother, I'll be home before curfew," Ryoma said sarcastically and hung up.

Robert Smith rolled his eyes in response. The kid was a handful all right. Ryoma had made his life hell since the moment he first became a client. But as long as he wasn't distracted, the kid could work. Aside from his little attitude problem, the Ryoma did whatever he said and did it well; he was a manager's dream client.

It was almost a little creepy sometimes, the way he got into work.

Bob had spotted him when he was still in college where his good looks and tennis expertise really stood out. As he pursued Ryoma as a client, he quickly learned of the prince's bad attitude and general closed mindedness toward agents and their work. He said he wasn't interested - that he really only plays tennis for sport. He wouldn't do it for a career.

That was definitely a disappointment, but it wasn't a problem. There were other players out there more pliable than this kid. But when Bob learned that this player was in fact Ryoma Echizen, the son of the Great Nanjiro Echizen… well, he simply had to have him.

Bob had tried any and all means of bribery he could think of to get Ryoma working for him, but nothing worked.

Nothing, that is, until he happened to get a glance at Ryoma's cell phone.

They say that if you want to know a woman, you see what's inside her purse. Well if you wanted to get to know Ryoma you took a look inside his phone.

--

Ryoma set up the GPS and followed the directions toward Nike.

Man, was his manager annoying.

He opened his cell phone for a third time and started systematically deleting all of his manager's calls and messages without listening to or reading them. Usually the only one who called him on this phone was his manager, so he was more than little surprised when he saw an unfamiliar number.

Not only was it unfamiliar, but it was a Japanese number. He hit the redial button and put it on speaker, preparing himself for some nosey Japanese reporter.

The phone rang for a while and right as Ryoma was about to hang up a roaring deep voice answered.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WIT' YOU!? WHY THE HELL YOU CALLIN' ME AT SEVEN O' FRICKIN' CLOCK, YA ASSHOLE?!"

Ryoma was so surprised he swerved into another lane and almost side-swiped a very large Ford F-450 Super Duty Pickup.

After much honking and exchanging of insults between the large red Ford and small blue Aero, the result of which was Ryoma giving Mister-definitely-compensating-for-something-else the bird, Ryoma was able to properly respond to the angry caller.

"What the HELL is the matter with you?! You called me earlier, ya jerk off, and I was just calling you back!" He snarled angrily, while now carefully keeping watch over the busy roads.

Immediately the man's tone softened. "I called you…? Wait…Ryoma? You caught me when I was sleeping, ya see I have this night job and-… well, never mind. It's good to hear from ya buddy!" The man now boomed warmly.

Ryoma was very confused, and justifiably so. First this man was yelling at him and now he was acting like they were best friends… He decided this problem was best solved using one of those tricks one would use at parties if you don't remember someone's name. What if it was some sort of corporate employee? He didn't want to make a bad impression.

"Uh, yeah good to hear from you," he started awkwardly "I'm sorry, how do you pronounce your name again?" He questioned with an awkward laugh. "I remember the characters; I just don't remember how you say them," he said trying to excuse the blunder.

There was silence on the other line for a second before the man burst into laughter. "You don't know who the hell this is, do you?" The caller managed to say through his laughter.

"No, sorry. Was it that obvious?" He snapped sarcastically, very annoyed at being the butt of a joke.

"No. If I was some Ritchie'-Rich like you and I knew all of those frou-frou games you blue-bloods play then maybe I would have believed you," he chuckled.

Ryoma stayed silent in his mortification.

The man seemed to take a hint. "Okay, okay," he comforted with a resigned tone. "I'll tell you how to pronounce my name. 'Ho-rio Sa-to-shi.'

Ryoma brightened immediately. "Horio? Seriously? Damn, I haven't talked to you since-" - since a certain someone left his life - "…I can't even remember," he said cheerfully, stubbornly refusing to let thoughts about people who no longer matter enter his mind.

"Yeah, it's been awhile…" Horio observed awkwardly, suddenly sounding shy.

"How have you been? What are you doing? You mentioned a job," Ryoma prompted, curious about his friend's life these past five years.

Wow, it had been five years.

"Sorry Ryoma, but I can't really talk right now. I just called to ask you one question," Horio said unsteadily, now sounding slightly nervous.

"Okay," Ryoma responded, sensing there was something wrong. "What is it?"

"You didn't happen to get any calls from Momo did you?"

"No," he immediately answered. "Why, is something wrong?"

"No, no. Everybody is fine. What about Eiji?" Now Ryoma was nervous.

"No I didn't get a call from him either. Listen. If something's wrong I have a right to know-" Horio calmly cut him off.

"Sakuno?" It was a quiet inquiry, not at all meant to have the effect it did have.

It was still surprising to him how hard that name hit him every time he heard it.

"Why…" he started shakily. "Why would that _bitch_ call me?" He snapped, just under a snarl, desperately trying to keep the bitterness out of his tone.

Horio immediately backed off. He almost sounded cheerful now. "She wouldn't; I'm sorry, you know Tomo-Chan, she's nosey. She wanted to know what was going on. I'm sorry. I promise not to bother you with these things anymore." And he just hung up without giving Ryoma another word.

Ryoma was now ready to kill someone. Horio had some nerve, yelling at him and bringing up the past like he did. To top it off, he had the audacity to mention _her_ name and then not even tell him jack about her. If he was going to say her name then he better damn well have a reason why. Yes, he really wanted to punch someone right about now.

He pulled up to the Nike Corporation's meeting place in a foul mood. Bob was there with a freshly ironed suit in hand.

"Change into this in the bathroom; and for God's sake, try to make yourself smell like an athlete not some alcoholic who's just been to a whore house."

"It was a not a whore house! It was a high class, all night entertainment establishment," he said smoothly. His bad mood was improving slightly at the prospect of more work.

Bob rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just get rid of the high class entertainment smell."

"I might add that you are the kind individual who treated me and my loser friend to this entertainment," Ryoma added cheekily and ducked into the bathroom before Bob could take a swing at him.

--

Japanese Athlete Takes Tennis Tournament by Storm

No, Eiji thought; too far back.

Ryoma Echizen: Next Donald Trump?

Too recent.

Echizen to star with Jolie, Aniston in Movie; Brad watches anxiously from sidelines

Too recent again, but this time Eiji had to roll his eyes.

Upcoming Tennis Superstar Taking Over Hollywood

Ryoma Echizen Declared Sexiest Man Alive

Echizen Advertising for Footwear Brand

The Prince of Tennis Cologne: Smell like a player

None of these were right!

Eiji refined his search, desperately looking for something he doubted the public ever saw.

Google Search: Ryoma Echizen Dating

Enter.

10,000,000 Results for Ryoma Echizen Dating

Dear Lord, Eiji thought wildly.

Ryoma Dating Actress

Echizen , Star Vocalist Hold Hands

I W4NN4 M3RRY RY0M4 3CHIZ3N!!!111!!!!!1!!!1! 1111

Eiji smacked his head against his computer desk in his exasperation. What was wrong with these people? He decided then and there that he didn't like the internet.

Apparently people either didn't want to remember Ryoma before he became a superstar or they just didn't care about him before then.

Eiji guessed the latter.

He was currently at Momo's apartment, pretending to listen for suspicious noises down the hall that might sound like Momo sexually assaulting Sakuno-Chan. Since Momo had been declared 'emotionally insane' by his psychiatrist, and decidedly couldn't be left alone; Sakuno had stayed with him even at nights. This was why he was here; making sure that in his delicate state he didn't assault Sakuno or anything. He had heard none for the past week that he had been working his 'night shifts', as Tomoka had called them. He wasn't worried, just as everybody had said; it was a precaution. But it gets hard trying to stay up all night. So he thought he would go on the internet and started to search for new games he could play in his class.

Eiji had done fairly well for himself since high school. He had good enough grades in college, a love for school, and a fun-loving personality, so he found his niche in teaching. He became an elementary school gym teacher. It was fun; he got to teach kids interesting ways to stay in shape and exercise.

While he was creating his lesson plans though, he got distracted and thought of another way to pass the time, by solving another of his curiosities: searching the web for traces of Ryoma and Sakuno's breakup. He searched for hours with no results. Finally, just before he was about to give up, he found a small obscure article dated four years ago that he wouldn't even have noticed were he not so desperate for results.

Ryoma Echizen Snaps on the Field

Eiji clicked on it, a curious excitement broiling in him. What he read, though, shocked and sobered him immediately.

_Ryoma Echizen, better known as the Tiger Woods of the tennis world, seemingly had a nervous breakdown during a practice match yesterday before the finals for the qualifying matches to the Warsaw Open. _

_His opponent, amateur player Ron Phid, hit a shot on the line. He declared it was in, while Ryoma disagreed. A short argument ensued, which was largely ignored by officials since arguments of this sort were common on the courts. Ryoma, seemingly pushed past his limit, pounced on the poor unsuspecting opponent and started mercilessly beating him. _

_As he beat him he shouted things like "F---you, you f-----g a—hole; you don't know what the f--- you're talking about! The f-----g ball was out; I was right next to it, I saw it! You think I'm an f-----g liar?! I'm not the f-----g liar, you're the liar you stupid b—ch!"_

_Ryoma was pulled off his opponent by other members present at the court at the time. Ryoma then turned on these men and lashed out at them. After some time Ryoma was restrained, but not before he sent three men to the hospital with multiple injuries. The victims lost several teeth, and between them had two broken noses, cracked cheek bones, a broken wrist and several broken ribs._

_Sports analysts would say that it was only a matter of time before Ryoma overreacted in this way. He always plays it cool on the court; he had to snap from the pressure some time. But is this really the truth? Onlookers reported that Ryoma came into practice slightly irritable that day and had a harsher vocabulary than usual. The ball boy working that hour would later tell us that though normally the sport super star is very kind to him and offers him tips on his tennis, that day he cussed violently at him and told him to 'quit before you embarrass yourself and the sport any more than you already have'._

_Another curious onlooker would later tell our investigative reporter that he saw Ryoma yelling very angrily while talking on his phone. After the call was seemingly done, Echizen was seen throwing his cell phone roughly into his gym bag, picking up one of his rackets and slamming it violently against the pavement. It shattered with the force. You can see an image of this on page 6._

_Our anonymous observer said that he walked into practice, his bad mood apparently not improving. Our observer said he wished he had told someone earlier about what he saw; maybe violence could have been avoided if Ryoma had been intercepted before the brawl._

_What was the real cause of the tennis star's bad mood? Our reporters decided to go to the source. He appeared fine at sight but when questioned about the incident, Ryoma gave our reporters a charming smile and called security to escort them off his premises._

_We may never know the real cause of Ryoma's bad mood that day. Analysts have already chalked the incident up as another new celebrity with 'Rags-to-riches syndrome,' while experts say they act up just for attention._

_One thing is for sure, Ryoma Echizen is not just your average tennis player. Now that he has come to the state, America will never be the same again._

_By Susie Quinn, Gossip Columnist._

_--_

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis / Tennis no Oujisama. I do not own Google, an SSC Ultimate Aero (-.-), a Ford F-450 Super Duty Pickup, or the Playboy Mansion. OR Nike, or Brad, Angelina, and Jennifer. I do not own Donald Trump (You're Fired) I do not own Tiger Woods. I do not own the Warsaw open or Wimbledon.

--

A/n: So, how do you like it? Interested? Well I tried to make the characters modern so I had to add a lot of stuff and research a lot of stuff so I hope you guys appreciate the effort with reviews. For they are my blood! Seriously! Tell me what you think! All questions or concerns should be directed to moi. TTFN. Peace!


	4. Right Round

Love is Just a Word

--

"_Who, being loved, is poor?"_

_-Oscar Wilde_

--

She sighed; physically, she was totally relaxed. Mentally, as always, she was fighting the urge to scream. Then the speakers boomed the intro to her song. She plastered on her stage smile and slowly parted the dark curtains with her silky, white gloves.

_There's only two types of people in the world _

_The ones that entertain and the ones that observe_

Tomoka strolled out onto the floor after the first line. Her shining red lips parted and her pink tongue darted out to lick the corner of her mouth sensually.

_Well baby I'm a put on a show kind of girl_

_Don't like the backseat, gotta be first_

She swaggered up to the pole in the middle of the raised floor and circled it slowly.

_I'm like the ring leader_

_I call the shots_

_I'm like a firecracker_

_I make it hot_

Her black leather heels glinting in the spotlight, she stomped off to the edge of the stage.

_When I put on a show_

_I feel the adrenaline moving through my veins_

_Spotlight on me and I'm ready to break_

This was her third time dancing in an hour. Damn, she hated Saturdays. She'd better be getting a nice bonus for this.

_I'm like a performer _

_The dance floor is my stage_

_Better be ready_

_Hope that you feel the same_

Showing off her pearly whites to the crowd, she snapped her horse crop against her black, fishnet, thigh-high stocking and adjusted the black, sparkling top hat that rested proudly atop her hair which was pinned back into a tight bun. She turned slowly on the spot to give the audience of sweaty, unattractive men a good, long look at her bright red G-string.

_All eyes on me in the center of the ring just like a circus_

_When I crack that whip everybody gon' trip just like a circus_

_Don't stand there watching me_

_Follow me, show me what you can do_

_Everybody let go_

_We can make a dance floor just like a circus_

She marched proudly back to the pole and took a firm hold of it. She straddled it for a second before hopping up and raising herself onto the pole by squeezing it firmly between her legs. She heard the wolf-whistles and cat-calls and inwardly grimaced in disgust.

_There's only two types of guys out there_

_One's that can hang with me_

_And one's that are scared_

_So baby I'ma hope that you came prepared _

_I run a tight ship, so beware_

She spun slowly around the pole and flashed her dazzling, stage smile once again. Then she leaned back further and thrust her breasts forward. She froze for a moment, and let the light shine off her sparkling gold bra, hidden under her very small, black vest.

_I'm like a ring leader_

_I call the shots_

_I'm like a firecracker_

_I make it hot_

Tomoka tilted back up and came out of her spin. That's when she caught sight of him standing by the door. It wasn't like this was the first time she saw him there, but every time she did her heart caught in her throat for a moment.

_I feel the adrenaline moving through my veins_

_Spotlight on me and I'm ready to break_

_I'm like a performer the dance floor is my stage_

_Better be ready_

_Hope that you feel the same_

Suddenly there was no one else in the room but him and her. She was schoolgirl again, awkward and clumsy, and she wanted nothing more than to be sexy for him. So she swallowed the lump in her throat and continued through her routine, her eyes hardly leaving his.

_All eyes on me in the center of the ring just like a circus_

_When I crack that whip everybody gon' trip just like a circus_

_Don't stand there watching me_

_Follow me, show me what you can do_

_Everybody let go_

_We can make a dance floor just like a circus_

She twisted toward the crowd, unbuttoning her vest and letting it slide off her arms and unto the floor, her body now on auto-pilot. Though her back was to him, she could feel his eyes on her still and her smile was genuine for the first time that night.

_Let's go_

_Let me see what you can do_

_I'm runnin' this (like like like like a circus)_

_Yeah_

_Like a what? (like like like like a circus)_

She swaggered slowly toward the edge of the stage, where she was showered by money. She bent down slowly and picked up a considerable wad of bills. She slipped them into her bra and blew a kiss to the audience.

_All eyes on me in the center of the ring just like a circus_

_When I crack that whip everybody gon' trip just like a circus_

_Don't stand there watching me_

_Follow me, show me what you can do_

_Everybody let go_

_We can make a dance floor just like a circus_

She cracked her horse crop once again ran her hand up her thigh slowly. She sank into a crouch and flashed her knees apart quickly, before snapping them shut again. She followed through with other finishing poses, her mind never wandering far from her observer by the door.

_All eyes on me in the center of the ring just like a circus_

_When I crack that whip everybody gon' trip just like a circus_

_Don't stand there watching me_

_Follow _me_, show me what you can do_

_Everybody let go_

_We can make a dance floor just like a circus_

The song came to its final chords and Tomoka was leaning forward giving the audience a final look down her chest. Suddenly a very drunk member of the audience leapt out of his seat and attempted to climb onto the stage.

She squeaked in shock, her trance broken.

The man grabbed her ankle; she lost her balance and fell backward. She dropped her horse crop as she managed to twist and catch herself before she hit her head. The weaved-in, fake bun pinned to the back of her hair loosened and fell out with her impact. Her hat shortly followed suit.

She looked back at the male who had ensnared her ankle in time to see him have an army of bodyguards descend upon him. Her silent observer was one of the first people to grab the intoxicated individual. He carefully peeled the man's hand off her ankle, looked her deep in the eyes, and gave her a charming smile and a wink. Then he and the other body guards, all matching in their tight, black muscle tees and khaki pants, carried the offender toward the door. There he was expelled into the side alley followed by a call of the eternal motto of the bodyguards working at Club Sterling.

"DON'T TOUCH THE DANCERS!"

After shutting and locking the door once again, Horio turned and gave Tomoka a once over. He looked up at her position on the raised floor, her hair disheveled and her props strewn about her. The rest of his coworkers were settling the crowd back down. Primarily warning the inebriated man's friends that the next time they came they had better watch themselves or they would be banned.

Horio threw her concerned look and mouthed the words 'You OK'.

She gave him a small smile and a short nod before she picked herself up and started to gather all of her tips scattered about the floor.

--

Horio smashed open the door with his foot and started waltzing out of the building. He froze halfway through and leaned against the large gray door as an afterthought. He gestured his hands through it. Tomoka gave him a cheeky grin and walked through the doorway first.

"Feeling gentlemanly tonight?" She asked with a laugh and then swung her gym bag over her shoulder. She then shuddered slightly and pulled her jacket tighter around her. This was typical weather for the end of November and she had prepared for it, but she wished that she had the cash for a heavier coat.

"You worked a double shift; I figure ya earned it" he grinned flirtatiously. "Now you want me to sweep ya off yer feet?" She heard his accent faintly and that made her smile even more. While working for the Sterling you picked up the accent, everyone seemed to be from Osaka there. Some people thought that the Kansai accent that they both had acquired was scary. If you asked Tomoka she would tell you that she had never heard a sweeter sound.

"Hell yeah; my feet are killin' me!" She groaned and slumped as if an invisible weight was upon her.

Sure enough he quickly grabbed the backs of her legs, swept her off her feet and started carrying her bridal style.

She squeaked in surprise. "I didn't think you would really do it…" She snuggled into his warmth. "…You gonna cook dinner when we get home too?" She asked sneakily.

He looked awkward. "Well, I was kinda hoping…"

She sighed and then replied sternly. "We can't eat at Sakuno-chan's."

"Why not?" He exploded. "We've been eating dinner there way longer than Momo has; why are we the ones that get pushed out!" he stomped angrily toward the car.

He set her down and she got in the car. He slammed the door sulkily and stomped around to the driver's side of the car.

Tomoka rolled her eyes at his childishness.

He got in, secured his seatbelt, and started up the car. He pulled out of the parking lot, waving to the guard manning the gate as he did so. When they got on the street Tomoka decided to be practical.

"Listen, we can't make her cook tonight. Today's Saturday; Sakuno works both her jobs today and she'll be tired. But we'll visit her for lunch tomorrow, okay?" She reasoned.

He grumbled. "Fine, but can't we go to Taka's then or something? I'm sick of Ramen!" he whined.

"You and your stomach; I thought Momo was the big eater." Tomoka said pointedly.

"He is; I'm just picky." He smirked and she smacked his arm.

"Well you should be glad we have what we've got. Don't be expecting Sakuno to always be there to stuff your gut with home cooking." She lectured. "She's got her own faces to feed like that tank she calls a dog and now she's got to feed Momo."

Horio chuckled. "And he counts as two people."

"Exactly; so just because you're a brat don't be begging Sakuno for hand-outs. We've both got jobs, we're adults, and we can feed ourselves."

"Yeah, but until we can afford an oven we're stuck with microwave food. I'm getting sick of it!" he whined again.

"You baby; I've been living like this since high school. It's not a big deal." She stubbornly proclaimed.

He was saddened at the mention of her way of life.

Keeping a hand on the wheel, he reached over and grabbed her hand which rested on the seat. She turned to look at him and they shared a loving look for a second.

"It's not a big deal." He repeated quietly.

Then he looked back at the road ahead and she looked out the slightly fogged, passenger window. A contented smile graced her face. They held hands the rest of the ride to Takashi's restaurant.

--

Tomoka walked into the small restaurant and immediately got a sense of déjà vu. Not only was Taka behind the counter cooking sushi, but there was Eiji sitting at a stool, Fuji sitting at a booth and Sakuno sitting opposite him.

It was like she had stepped back into the past, only no one was in tennis uniforms and Sakuno was soaking her feet in a tub of steaming water. As soon as she and Horio entered the restaurant everyone turned to them and greeted them with warm smiles. Of course since those days everyone had grown and matured.

Eiji hadn't changed much look wise, but anyone who knew him before could tell that having that teaching job had really matured him. It was good for him. He had always been the youngest sibling in his family. So to have to take care of children younger than he was a life changing kind of experience.

Fuji was still very effeminate, especially when you compared him to Momo or Taka who had become taller and stronger with age. But unlike them, Fuji had a type of fierceness to him that terrified lesser people. He had become an entrepreneur of sorts; at least that's what he told people. What he actually sold…well that was the mystery. His personality hadn't changed much; he was still cruel, manipulative and callously blunt.

Sakuno hadn't grown much at all since high school. She was only around 5'1'', but she had definitely grown curvier, which was expected. Just look at the girl's grandmother; that woman was stacked! Her hair was shorter; she had it cut shortly after she and Ryoma's breakup while seeking a new look. Though recently, she decided she didn't like it and she was in the process of growing it back. When it was down it rested mid-back.

She had matured with age and loss like everyone eventually does. Tomoka wondered where she got the strength she had sometimes. Other times, it was like nothing ever changed, like they were still in middle school. They were young and untouched by life's scars. But they never focused on the bad things, Sakuno wouldn't allow it. She helped move them forward, she helped keep them smiling.

"Welcome friends!" Taka greeted kindly.

"Hoi, Hoi; Tomo-chan, Horio, How's it going?" Eiji smiled happily.

"Hey Tomo-chan, Horio-kun." Sakuno calmly acknowledged, looking exhausted, but happy to see them.

"I haven't talked to you since the wedding, Horio." Fuji said easily, seemingly not noticing how everyone else in the restaurant visibly winced. That was only a week-and-a-half ago, the wounds were still sore. Sakuno even glared viciously at the offender.

"Yeah, speaking of which, where's Momo?" Tomoka asked uneasily.

Sakuno leaned back in her seat and sighed. "He's at his parents for the day. We're seeing if that cheers him up any." She replied, looking worried.

"Was he…okay with that?" Tomoka asked carefully. "A couple days ago you could barely leave to go to the bathroom." She said with a forced laugh, giving her best friend a concerned look.

"Well…he didn't leave without a fight…" Sakuno said cautiously. Everyone gave her worried looks.

"Oh he didn't hurt me!" She hurriedly assured. "He just wouldn't even let go of my hand until I promised him that I would have my cell phone and that I would call him."

"Then what happened to your feet?" Tomoka inquired.

"I was doing errands for my boss half the day. And then I worked a double shift at the diner. Whoever invented heels was a sadist." Sakuno replied with exhaustion saturating her tone.

"Oh yeah? How's that working out? I know you said yesterday that you didn't think you could take much more of that diner." Tomoka commented as she strolled over to the booth and slid on to the bench next to Sakuno. Horio followed quietly but instead chose to sit on a stool at the bar.

"I couldn't." Sakuno said and then put her fingers to her temples and started to massage them gently. "I quit today after they withheld my paycheck because I missed my shift last week."

"That's not fair!" Tomoka cried indignantly. "You told them you had a wedding to go to! You gave those jerks three weeks notice and everything!"

"Tell them that." Sakuno replied with a hopeless sigh and carefully withdrew her feet from the hot water.

"Tomo-chan, the water's still hot; I put some salts in it. You should relax your feet." The petite, auburn haired woman gave her best friend an encouraging smile.

Tomoka frowned. "Your feet probably hurt more than mine." She grumbled but took off her shoes and dipped her feet in the welcoming warmth none the less.

"Yeah, we were just telling Sakuno that she should take a vacation. This is the perfect time now that she is down to only one job." Eiji pointedly explained and then glared at Sakuno.

She glared back, defiantly.

"Stop being stubborn!" Eiji snarled. "You and Momo both need to get away for a while. And Momo needs to be near friends!"

Horio immediately shrunk back against the wall. Contrastingly, Tomoka immediately bristled and came to Sakuno's defense.

"If she don't wanna go, she don't have to; ya morons, watsa matta wit you?!" Tomoka snarled, her newly acquired yakuza accent booming and shaking the entire establishment.

The day after the wedding it was casually suggested by Eiji that Sakuno should take Momo to America. He insisted that she needed a vacation and that Momo needed his best friend, who just happened to reside in said country. There was also a plus in the fact that they had a complimentary flight with the currently unused wedding gift.

It was immediately rejected by Tomoka. It was immediately accepted by Fuji; thus causing a civil war within their group of friends.

"Maybe it isn't up to her." Fuji suggested coldly. "We care about Momo. You'll have to get over your own problems if you want to help him heal." He said without feeling or remorse.

Tomoka watched from the corner of her eye as Sakuno winced from his words and looked down.

Sakuno was trapped in this argument, she couldn't vote either way. If she said she wouldn't go, everyone would think she just wanted Momo to be unhappy.

And if she went…

She wasn't really sure about what would happen, but it wouldn't be good. Everyone could tell that she really didn't want to go.

But even if the world was against her, Tomoka wouldn't give up. She had gone to extremes to protect her friend.

This didn't even include forcing Horio to call Ryoma and ask if anyone had consulted him about the idea.

Horio didn't enjoy that, she felt bad about it afterwards, but it needed to be done. The surprising thing to her was that he still had the same cell number. You would think that he would get it changed. She was doubtful that he would even pick up, but when he called back, that was a shocker. He hardly called people back, even before he was famous.

"I'll do it" came a quiet voice breaking Tomoka out of her reverie.

"You will? Oh good" Fuji smirked victoriously, and threw her a smug look over his shoulder.

"What!? You can't!" Tomoka howled with rage.

Sakuno sighed heavily. "I have to…how else is Momo going to get better? The doctor said he needs to be near close friends' right? Besides Ryoma and I can get over our differences for Momo." The look on her face betrayed her words.

"No! I won't allow it!" She continued to screech, blind with fury.

"Sorry Tomo-chan," Sakuno murmured quietly "It's not your decision." Sakuno then rose from her seat, pulled her heels back on and began gathering her belongings. "I have to get home and feed Moose before I pick up Momo."

She stared in shock at her best-friend-since-kindergarten. Her resolve then hardened and she threw the other woman an enraged look.

Sakuno froze from the intensity of her stare.

"Fine! See if I care!" She stormed out of the restaurant, not even bothered that she left behind her shoes. She exited, followed by trails of soapy water across the floor leading to the door and out into the cold wintry night.

Horio waited for a few moments before he followed behind regretfully. Casting one last sorrowful look at the sushi sitting innocently at the table, and then apologizing to the rest of the occupants of the restaurant, he left quietly.

--

Tomoka stomped out to the car. She tried to rip open the door in a rage, just so she could slam it.

Just her luck, Horio decided to lock it for once. She settled, instead, for kicking the tires violently.

It wasn't fair; she just wanted Sakuno to be happy! Fuji was an ass. Didn't he remember how miserable Sakuno was back then? Wasn't he there when she cried?

She let out another frustrated cry and gave the tire one last barefooted pummel. She then turned and leaned herself against the car. Crossing her arms over her chest, a scowl planted itself upon her visage and she brooded.

"Your face will get stuck like that in this weather." She looked up and was greeted by the warm gaze of Horio Satoshi.

She immediately relaxed. Whenever he looked at her like that it made her want to cry. Sure enough, tears suddenly blurred her vision.

Before she could even think to lift an arm and wipe them away, Horio had pulled her into his arms and gently pressed her face into the crook of his neck.

"I know you're mad, but Sakuno's a big girl. She doesn't need our permission to do anything."

Tomoka gave a small hiccupped-sob in response.

He silently unlocked the car and helped her slide into the passenger seat. He turned the key but stayed in park, waiting for the heater to kick on first. She sat on the bench seat of the car with her legs crossed; it aided her in warming her now frozen, bare feet.

"I'm not mad at Sakuno." She mumbled quietly, her voice husky and watery from the tears she had forced back down her throat.

Horio said nothing, but gave her his full attention as the heat popped on with a dry hiss.

"I'm mad that Ryoma always gets his way."

--

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis/ Tennis no Oujisama. I do not own Brittany Spears'-'Circus'.

--

A/N: Ha ha! Finally done! Sweetness! Soo you get to see what the others have been doing with their time all these years. It was a bit of an emotional roller coaster, but in Tomo-chan's defense; them's were fightin' words. Tomoka is an emotional gal too; I'm trying to keep it real. Tomoka has a bit of a past…I don't know if I'll examine it that much in this story…maybe I'll have some sort of side story…eh we'll see where it goes…

Well next chapter is where stuff gets a juicy! They're a-leavin' the country.

Feed me reviews, for they are my sustenance!

Hey by the way I don't know it you guys noticed but I've been naming the titles of the chapters after songs that I think set the mood pretty well…if you are interested in any of the songs or bands then tell me and ill post them.


	5. Poker Face

Love is Just a Word

Chapter 5: Poker Face

"_They spoil every romance by trying to make it last forever."_

_-Oscar Wilde_

--

What do you say to someone who you went out with for four years?

Someone who made you smile and laugh, and held you when you cried.

What do you say to the same person who broke your heart and left you alone to twist in the wind?

These were Sakuno's thoughts as she sat stiffly on the large and heavily cushioned seat of the private jet.

Momo sat next to her, currently making himself at home by flipping through all of the available video games for the Xbox 360 in the plane. If you looked at him now it would be near impossible to tell what he had been going through the past week. As soon as she mentioned their plans to visit Ryoma, Momo immediately brightened; he even was willing to detach himself from her long enough for her to inform her boss of her plans.

She did feel infinitesimally better about the trip after that. It showed her that Momo did indeed need the comfort from his friend and that she wasn't doing this just so Eiji and Fuji could have a good laugh at her pain.

"Damn, he took out 'Dead Planet'…" Momo mumbled disappointedly. He picked out some other American game instead. He quickly popped the disk into the open slot and pulled out the wireless, silver controller. He half turned to her, while keeping his gaze on the monitor. "You wanna play?"

"Nah, I'll watch." She reassured. He shrugged and turned back to the game. She didn't miss the way he angled his body; half toward her and half toward the screen. He had done this a lot recently, always keeping a look out for her, making sure Sakuno didn't leave like his fiancé had.

Sakuno's heart ached at the thought. To think that you are completely and totally in love and then have your partner leave. She couldn't even imagine that…or could she? No, she and Ryoma were totally different; they were simply never meant to be.

She made it easier for Momo and leaned closer to him, their shoulders brushed slightly.

At another time in her life, she would have blushed from this simple contact. These days though, Momo and she were almost attached at the hip. He would hardly leave her side; he apparently had no problem with changing and showering in front of her. She drew some lines though, and she needed time to herself. That's what this trip was for, to give Sakuno a break and give Momo someone else to hang onto.

A loud smacking noise shook her out of her thoughts.

She flicked her gaze over to their large, four-legged companion. The black and white Great Dane was munching on the available dog treats that were normally reserved for the guard dogs that accompanied Ryoma on long trips.

She sighed before she gave him a small, warm smile. "Moose, ya big dope; you're going to ruin your dinner." He ruffed quietly and continued to eat the treats, unconcerned.

She rolled her eyes and turned to give the magazines on the table in front of her another glare. They were all sports magazines and, unsurprisingly, they were covered with Echizen paraphernalia.

She silently scolded the magazine cover-shots of him in her head.

_You're spoiling my dog you know. I can't feed him like this every day! He eats a ton as it is!_

She had been forced to get over her avoidance of his face as soon as she set foot on the jet. For you could not avoid it here on this flying mansion he called a private jet. Ryoma Echizen's face practically plastered the walls. There were movie posters, commercials with him on the TV's, there was even a small picture of him on the beer and soda cans for God's sake!

When she, Momo, and Moose had arrived at the airport that morning, she was fully prepared to pay for a ticket for Moose. He didn't enjoy solitude as it is, and she didn't want to test him by stuffing the large animal in a small, dark, and lonely crate in the cargo shoot. She thought that she could just trade in their first class ticket and get three lower-class ones instead, Momo would understand. But the moment the flight attendant saw those accursed tickets she escorted them to another end of the airport and showed them to a privet jet. She bowed and left them alone, but not before alerting every airport visitor within shouting distance that they were indeed acquaintances of _The_ Ryoma Echizen and would indeed be visiting him.

She thought she would die of humiliation. Some things never change, she supposed. Even though he was in another country, on the opposite side of the planet, he still found a way to make her miserable.

Once they finally got onto the privet jet, the first words that flew from Momo's mouth were "Oh good, he sent the one with the open bar."

Needless to say, she nearly fell flat on her face after hearing that. "You mean he has more than one?" She had cried in shock and outrage.

"Well, only two…" He replied sheepishly.

That, honestly was the first look she had had into his celebrity life. She had refused to look at any of the ads or articles about him; she pointedly switched off the TV whenever he appeared; and she would politely excuse herself whenever conversation switched to the 'Asian sensation tennis champ."

The wounds were still sore, even now as she gazed at magazine covers, her heart throbbed painfully.

She shook her head, hoping the erase her thoughts like an etch-a-sketch. She couldn't think like that, especially now that she was about to see him for the first time in five years.

She abruptly stood up and walked toward the bar.

Momo's head whipped around so fast it looked he had been punched. He grabbed her arm and jerked her back into the seat looking horrified.

"Where are you going?" He asked his timing a little late. She smiled comfortingly.

"I was going to look around the bar a bit; might as well take advantage." She didn't acknowledge his actions. She could tell he felt bad enough as it was, so she just brushed them off as the norm.

He responded with an embarrassed smile. "Oh okay, get me a beer while your at it."

She thought about this for second. The doctor had said to keep him away from medication and pointy objects, in case he got any suicidal ideas. He also did say to watch alcohol intake, but she didn't want Momo to feel any worse than he already did so she decided to let him bend the rules.

"Alright…but only one, okay? I don't want you to be drunk when we get to America." She lightly scolded.

He nodded his head in agreement.

She strolled over to the bar and read off the various types of foreign alcohols that were available. Momo chose some sort of German brew that she vaguely recognized as a type that Tezuka brought back after his trip to Germany.

She picked out one of the available Pontas for herself.

Momo laughed as she opened it.

"What?" She questioned mildly, her attention directed toward Moose as he licked the now empty dog bowl clean.

"I can't believe that brat still keeps Ponta in his mini bar; what a dork! I don't think he'll ever change!"

That statement jump-started all sorts of memories in her head. She looked at the Ponta in her hands, and recalled the Ponta he had offered her on the night of their double date all those years ago. Then she saw all of the pictures of him around the cabin. Every picture of that trademark, arrogant smirk he always wore seemed to be laughing down at her. She poured the unfinished drink down the drain and held back tears.

She sat back down in her seat stiffly and watched as Momo blew off the heads of aliens on his game.

--

You couldn't fully comprehend how long an eighteen-hour flight really was until you were stuffed inside a small jet, filled with pictures of a person you'd rather not think about.

This was Sakuno's thought process as she was killed for what felt like the millionth time on this 'Halo' game.

Thirteen hours in to the flight and she was playing this horribly violent game all by herself as her dog chased his tail in a black and white blur and Momo slept off his drunken state.

She had told him only one beer and he had agreed to her giving him only one beer.

Apparently the four he grabbed when she wasn't looking didn't count.

She thought he might've been drunk when he started having conversations with his alien adversaries on the game screen. But what really gave him away in the end was when he thought Moose was Ryoma and started chatting with him about his visit with the aliens.

Momo groaned from his position stretched out over the row of cushy seats. She had put up the arm rests between their two seats and let Momo curl up over them. He mumbled something incomprehensible and flung his arm around wildly in search of something invisible. She was sitting on the furry, forest green carpet; leaning against his seat just for this purpose. She turned grasped his flailing hand and gave it a quick squeeze and a pat. He clamed and settled back down into a comfortable position.

Sighed, and switched off the game. With Momo a sleep it gave her a chance to really inspect the jet.

It was comfortable, very roomy. There was a small and unobtrusive door in the front which, she guessed, leads to a room where the pilots and staff must rest. Sakuno hadn't seen them since they had first boarded. They must be used to serving a much higher class of people than she and Momo. In the front there rested four large captain's chairs that were evenly spaced and each had a small, personal, plasma screen TV in front of them. She imagined he sent this jet to impress business clients. She and Momo currently sat in a section behind that, where there was a row of five connected bench seats lined up on one side of the plane. They rested comfortably across from a large LCD screen. This was attached to an Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Play Station 3, and had countless games to choose from. It was also right next to the full mini bar. She imagined that when Ryoma rode in this jet there was bartender behind there, waiting on him hand and foot.

That was a strange thought. Picturing Ryoma or other important, official figures riding, where she and Momo currently rested, she felt out of place.

She rose to her feet and drifted over to where Moose was in an epic battle between himself and his tail. She pulled him over into a tight hug right as he was about to get a mouthful of the furry appendage and be forcibly taught a painful lesson. Moose was only three years old, Ryoma had never met him. Sakuno almost wondered what he would think of the large Harlequin colored body that she slept next to these days. She giggled at the thought and gave the large dog a fond scratch on the ears.

"Hi Moosy!" She crooned animatedly. "How's my Moosey-moose? How's my big furry puppy?" He recognized her tone in the pet-to-owner gibberish she used and quickly crouched down on his front paws while raising his rump in the air and waggling his tail excitedly.

"Does he wanna play?" She questioned teasingly. He ruffed in response. She giggled and lunged for him. He dodged and scrambled away. For a hundred-and-forty pound dog he was really quite nimble. She lunged again and this time he whipped around and ducked behind the bar. She quickly followed behind giggling all the way. Unfortunately for the Great Dane the bar was closed off on one side and he ended up cornering himself. She pounced on him and they wrestled a bit. When it was over Sakuno sat victoriously, on Moose's back, panting.

"You let me win didn't you?" She asked suspiciously. He sat panting, but gave her a doggish grin showing all of his sharp canine teeth. She gave him a loving noogie and he barked playfully.

--

A seven hour flight away, Ryoma was waking up and greeting the morning with a growl.

Damn, he had that dream again. This was not going to be a good day.

He walked out of his room and went down stairs to where his cook awaited him with a hot breakfast. The elaborate omelette was placed in front of him as he sat down.

He wasn't really hungry but he learned early on that if he wanted the kitchen to be stocked with fresh and tasty food that he shouldn't piss-off the kitchen staff.

He took a large swig from his black coffee and winced as it burned his throat. The scorching liquid was strangely comforting in light of his bad mood, so he took two more boiling gulps and finished the mug.

'_Why did it have to be_ that_ stupid dream?' _he thought venomously. '_Why now?'_

He wondered if anyone would stop him from making his coffee 'Irish'. He looked around but the liquor cabinet was locked so he gave up on that idea.

'_This is all Horio's fault; where does he get the nerve, bringing up the past where it doesn't belong.' _He tore viciously into his omelette; his mind as far away from his breakfast as it could possibly be. It wasn't until he was half-way through that he realized it was a vegetarian special and that he hated the peppery flavor entirely. He wasn't in the mood for a fight with the cooks about his health so he just finished it without complaint and stalked into his entertainment room. He slammed the door and then leapt on his huge 'man-couch' as Momo had dubbed it. He turned on the TV and watched it with an unseeing gaze.

Then the shine of his cell phone on the nightstand caught his eyes and he reached for it hesitantly. He stared at it anxiously and debated whether or not to open it. He did and immediately closed it with a snap.

No new messages. Damn.

This dream he had wasn't so much a dream as it was a distant memory, a memory which he happened to be very keen to forget. Unfortunately for him, his subconscious had other ideas. And now he didn't even have any work to distract him from his stupid subconscious.

So he switched on his Xbox and pressed start to the game Dead Space. He watched the intro blankly as the screen gave a false flicker and a crimson blood splattered with gory precision across his screen. He turned his head toward the large windows as an echoing, tinny version of 'twinkle, twinkle little star' played and was followed unceremoniously by loud hisses and roars of inhuman beings.

_Momo loves this game._

Speaking of which; where the hell was Momo? He had gotten that phone call from Horio about a week ago and nothing since. And according to Fuji and Eiji, he dropped off the face of the earth. There was no trace of him in their conversations, even though they both had just attended his wedding; he was the furthest thing from their minds.

They were hiding something from him and this annoyed the hell out of Ryoma. He was already a million miles away and now they wouldn't even tell him about his best friends wedding? That's just sick and wrong!

So wrapped up, was he, in his justified anger; that he didn't even notice when there was the loud rapping of knuckles on the door. The door opened with a hesitant creak and one of his butlers called his name gently.

He jumped about a foot in the air and then whirled angrily on the hired helper. "What the hell; learn to knock would ya', Al?!" He snapped.

The man in question, a hired helper named Alfred, might have been offended if he wasn't so used to his superior's fits of temper. "I did knock sir; but I couldn't wait for a reply for there is an important message for you from the airline service."

Ryoma was on his feet and at his butler's side in an instant. "Message from the jet? Is someone on it?" He questioned excitedly.

Alfred was a bit taken aback by his master's enthusiasm. "Oh, well yes. It was boarded by Master Momo, an unfamiliar woman and her canine companion."

"Canine?" He asked, a puzzled expression playing across his face.

"Yes, they claimed to have tickets signed over from you."

"Yeah," He replied distracted. "I sent Momo a jet and a free pass on it for his wedding gift; sorry I forgot to tell you." This was more a statement than an apology but the hired man sighed in quiet acceptance.

"Do you think they got a dog?" Ryoma questioned aloud.

"I wouldn't know sir." He replied and started to leave.

"Hey Al, hold up a second." Ryoma called, quickly pulling Alfred out of his own ponderings. "You wanna play a game?" He asked while gesturing toward the Xbox and offering him a cocky grin.

Anything to take his mind off of his cruel nightmare.

--

_She wants to touch me whoo-oo_

_She wants to love me whoo-oo_

_She'll never leave me _

_Whoo-oo, whoo-oo ooh ooh_

At this point the music no longer sounded horrible, but anything you were forced to hear for six hours eventually became catchy.

_Don't trust the ho_

_Never trust the ho_

_Won't trust the ho_

_Don't trust me_

Sakuno had come upon a music player in her search of things to do in the plane and to her chagrin found it engraved with the initials of R.E. She decided to listen to it for purely scientific purposes. Maybe she could learn a little something about Ryoma's current life through his music. That sounded like a good, solid hypothesis.

That was a mistake.

She found that his music selection was extremely arrogant. How a music selection could be arrogant she didn't know, but he managed it in the end.

She would have taken off the headphones and chucked them across the room but she got a twisted sort of pleasure out of criticizing his music. What else could she do? She was stuck in private jet, playing his video games, eating his food and feeding her dog with treats meant for his guard dogs. It was the only thing she could do to save her drowning ego.

She flipped viciously to the next song.

_When I arrive_

_I, I bring the fire_

_Make you come alive_

_I, I can take you higher_

_What is this, forgot?_

_I must now remind you_

_Let it Rock_

_Let it Rock_

_Let it Rock_

It was like Ryoma's soul was coming out through the lyrics. This displeased her.

She flipped to the next song deciding that if it contained no redeeming qualities that the iPod was going down the toilet.

_I wake up every evening, with a big smile on my face  
And it never feels out of place_

And your still probably working at a 9 to 5 pace  
I wonder how bad that tastes

When you see my face  
Hope it gives you hell  
Hope it gives you hell  
When you walk my way  
Hope it gives you hell  
Hope it gives you hell

Now where's your picket fence love  
And where's that shiny car,  
And did it ever get you far-

She ripped out the ear buds and chucked the iPod across the room where it hit one of the captains' chairs and bounced helplessly into the corner.

Moose threw it a curious look as Sakuno brought her knees to her chest and bit one of her knuckles to keep tears back.

"Stupid jerk! He doesn't even care! He doesn't even care about us…about me…" She spat through her bruised knuckles.

Though Sakuno could not hear it, the song continued to play, almost ominously.

_You've never seemed so tense love  
I've never seen you fall so hard,  
Do you even know where you are_

_And truth be told I miss you_

_And truth be told I'm lying_

--

When he got the phone call he and Al were on their feet and yelling at the screen, both trying to encourage their car to go faster through verbal motivation. Both had their shoes off and shirts untucked. Albert's previously prim and 'well-made' appearance was severely ruined as Ryoma's competitive taunts had driven him to action.

Another of his butlers had walked in the room and gave a pointed cough to announce his presence. Albert dropped his controller upon the second butler's arrival and immediately scrambled to remake his proper exterior.

Ryoma swore and hit the pause button before turning and giving the servant an irritated look.

"Well, what is it?" He snapped. The butler cast a skeptical glance over to Albert who was attempting to put on his shoes, tie his tie and button his jacket at the same time.

"You have received a call from the airport, Master Ryoma. Your guests are about to land."

Ryoma immediately brightened. "Of course! Send them a car- wait no! A limo. I'll get cleaned up quickly and then I'll be here to greet them." He ordered, switching off the game and dashing quickly toward his room.

The butler swiftly called after his superior. "Wait sir. They called to report that they are having troubles awaking the occupants."

Ryoma froze and quickly whirled on the man. "What do you mean? They aren't hurt are they?" He questioned seriously, looking fearful.

"Not exactly." Replied the butler dryly. "Master Momo seems to have taken advantage of the liquor cabinet. He drank himself into a stupor." Ryoma relaxed at the news and immediately started to snicker.

"That idiot." He observed affectionately. "Just help him to the car or throw some cold water on him." He laughed.

"Well what about the dog and the young lady?" Ryoma frowned.

"They're drunk too?" He asked unbelievingly.

The man gave him an eye roll before sighing and continuing patiently. Ryoma didn't appreciate this but said nothing. "No, master; they both fell asleep during the long ride. Shall we wake them?"

He pondered this for a moment. "Nah let them sleep as long as possible. Jet lag is hell if you don't have time to sleep it off."

The second butler nodded. "Of course master, I'll inform the staff right away." He then bowed and took his leave.

Albert, who had righted his previously messy uniform, gave him a bow and a small smile before turning to follow his associate.

Ryoma smiled before calling after him. "Don't think you're through with me, Al; I still want a rematch."

The man in question gave him a backwards wave and continued down the hall to finish his afternoon duties.

Ryoma turned toward his room and rushed into the bathroom to quickly shower before his guests would arrive.

--

He had just finished getting ready when heard the limo. He quickly bolted for the door to greet his long term friend.

He hadn't seen Momo since last summer, after he first met the woman. Ryoma had no idea how serious it had gotten until Momo called and asked his advice on how he should go about proposing.

Ryoma had gotten curious after he heard that news; were any of his other friends in a serious relationship? Or any of his ….acquaintances…_female_ acquaintances. Was she in any relationships?

That was when he had started to rely on Fuji and his brutal truths. Though these days even Fuji held things back, he could tell. He was glad that Momo was here and he could finally hear the truth from idiot's mouth.

He opened the door as soon as he got to the large, wooden, entry way. He had expected to be greeted by Momo, his new wife, or one of his chauffeurs at the very least.

Needless to say, a large, harlequin patterned, 160 lb Great Dane pouncing on him was the last thing he expected.

"What…the…hell…?" He managed in between gasping breaths. The hound had knocked him backward through the large doorway and into his house. Luckily, there, he landed on the padded carpet and not the cold, hard, cement stairs.

"My apologies master Ryoma!" A man in black suit that he acknowledged as one of his drivers ran up and forcibly pulled the massive dog off of his chest. "He's not very well trained. He doesn't listen to master Momo at all." The man then gestured over to the hulking man being dragged across the lawn by two figures dressed in matching flight attendant uniforms which he recognized as the pilots of his jet.

Ryoma pulled himself to his feet and watched as Momo stumbled drunkenly up the steps in front of the entrance way.

As soon as Momo's half-lidded eyes met his own he gave a cry of delight and bounded up the stairs like a child. The sudden absence of weight caused the two jet pilots to lose their own balance and trip up the rest of the stairs after their mobile cargo.

"Echizen; Wassup buddy! I hasn't seen yoos since we was fightin' the aliens. 'Member? I gave yoos a doggy treat, you had to rolls over for it." Ryoma looked on in incredulous hilarity.

Just how much had Momo drunk?

"Sure whatever you say buddy. Come in and make yourself at home" He grinned and gestured for them to enter his house.

After Momo and his two pilot-turned-spotters squeezed through the door way, Ryoma turned to see where Momo's new bride was.

The sight that greeted him made his head spin. His dream from this morning immediately started to replay in his head, blasting him out like a boom-box in a tiled hallway.

There, standing before him, was very harassed-looking Sakuno Ryuzaki.

--

_It always opened with that same quiet call._

"Ryoma-kun?"

He twitched but refused to acknowledge the soft voice any further.

"We have to get up; my grandma will be home soon." He felt her squirm against him and attempt to wriggle out of his grasp for a second time.

He groaned and just pulled her closer in response.

"Ryoma-kun…" She scolded lightly.

He grumbled and rewarded her with his attention by opening one eye.

"Good, you're awake…now let go and get up." She insisted in her musical voice.

"…don't wanna…" He mumbled and buried himself further into the sheets, pulling her with him as he went.

She laughed her twinkling laugh and shoved playfully at his shoulder. "I know you're not much for mornings but you have a plane to catch later today and my _Grandmother_ will be home soon to give us a ride there. If she finds us like this…she'll probably make sure your plane is lost somewhere in the pacific."

He raised himself to the challenge by settling himself further into the bed. "I'm not scared of that old bat." He proclaimed resolutely.

She was quiet for a second, no doubt planning her next attack. He played with her long, wavy, chestnut hair which was draped over both of their bare shoulders.

"…did I mention that your parents are coming with her?" She innocently revealed.

What a wicked girl.

He couldn't get out of the bed fast enough then.

Her beautiful laughter filled the room once again as he was scrambling to pull on his pants.

"If I thought that would work I would have mentioned it sooner." She giggled, before slipping out of the bed and picking up her own clothes. She pulled the sheet along with her, still keeping her modesty intact even after all the times they had been together in the past few years.

He halfheartedly threw her a glare before pulling on his shirt. "Should I wait around for you to make me look like an idiot some more or go get breakfast?" He questioned snarkily.

"I do enjoy making you look like an idiot…" She teased.

He left the room with a roll of his eyes and a grin on his face.

After they were both dressed and munching on freshly purchased doughnuts, courtesy of Ryoma, they sat quietly in the living room, soaking up the significance of the day. They were both on the love seat, but there was a slight tension in the air.

"A-are you scared?" She broke the silence carefully.

"Of what? Remember, I lived in America for a while." He confidently stated.

"But not by your self…" She whispered, looking close to tears.

"The only thing I'm scared of is leaving you here. I should have gone to the community college in the area like you." He grumbled, a pang of regret filling him.

"No." She said firmly. "I'm not going to be the one to hold you back and rob the world of one of the best tennis players in history!"

"Bah, I don't wanna be a professional; those guys are just in it for the publicity." He said bitterly. He had grown up thinking this; he just wanted to beat his father not to become a professional. It was one of the few things he and his father agreed on.

"That's why you have to get to the top and rub it in their faces." She insisted passionately. Then her expression softened, to a more sorrowful look. "Even if you have to leave for a little while…"

He riled at her words. "I told you that I'm not going to leave you, didn't I?" He snapped, roughly pulling her closer. "I promise that there is no possible way I can go a day without thinking of you." He then pressed lips against hers feverishly.

After they parted, Sakuno grabbed his hand, which was pulled around her shoulders and gave it a light kiss.

"I trust you, and I give you the same promise." A few tears slipped from the corners of her eyes. Ryoma brushed them away without hesitation and pulled her into a passionate, final kiss.

_Then everything fades to black as sunlight peeks through the curtains. He hears the damn birds chirping and the noisy cooks banging their pots and pans down a floor._

_He then swears and desperately gets on with the day, eager to have something, anything to distract him._

--

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis/ Tennis no Oujisama. I also don't own 'Dead Space' (which is a terrifyingly awesome game), Xbox, Nintendo Wii, Halo, Playstation 3, Etch-a-sketch, LCD screens. I don't own 3oh!3- Don't trust me, Kevin Rudolf- Let it rock, All American Rejects- Gives you hell.

--

A/n:Woot!! another chapter!! How do you like me now? Take that society! It took awhile to publish, I have been having trouble with my computer but as loong as my friend's laptop doesn't give out chapter's will keep on coming!!

So is everything becoming clear? are you on the edge of your seats? ha ha! now you see some of the Ryo/Sakuness emerge. Review and I'll write more!

Critisizm of all kids are desired and welcomed--how else can I improve?

Till next time guys!!


	6. Devil's Dance Floor

Love is Just a Word

Chapter 6:

"_Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one."_

_~Benjamin Franklin_

--

He couldn't believe his eyes. Was he imagining things? Was she really here?

Ryoma felt like the world was spinning and the only thing that remained still was her, looking right into his eyes.

He wanted to yell at her.

He wanted to embrace her and never let go.

He wanted to hurt her.

He wanted to kiss her.

He wanted so many opposing things at the moment, but all he could do was tighten his grip on the cell phone in his pocket and grit his teeth. He couldn't trust himself to speak, so he waited for his emotions to settle before he unlocked his jaw. He was currently flip-flopping between being ecstatic to see her and outraged by her presence. He watched her approach-- a dominate gesture. He decided, then, on outraged and fixed her with the most menacing look he could muster. He glared as she cautiously moved across the lawn walking up to where he stood at the top of the stairs. He positioned his body between her and the door.

She thought she could just walk in like she owned the place? Well that wouldn't happen. He wouldn't let her.

--

Sakuno had spent the rest of their flight asleep on the chair next to Momo. She had fallen into a fitful slumber and had awoken in the arms of one of those silent flight attendants. Her dream hadn't been the most pleasant thing in the world, so she shouldn't be blamed for socking the guy and screaming bloody murder.

As if all that wasn't bad enough, they had by that time pulled up to Ryoma's mansion, and she still hadn't come up with a proper way to explain to present situation.

'_Hey Ryoma, long-time, no-see; how the hell are ya? So listen, I'll be staying here for a few days to check on Momo because he is emotionally scarred and needs me near. Even though you hate me as it is and you probably don't want me here. I'll be rooming with Momo and a large dog named Moose.'_

Yeah, that would convince him, she had thought sarcastically.

They soon pulled up and her punch-victim from earlier graciously opened the door. Together he and another helped pull the inebriated Momo out of his seat.

As soon as she stepped out of the car all thoughts of explanation went out the door.

Her first utterly ridiculous thought was that he looked just like he did in the magazines: tan, healthy, arrogant.

It was just so hard to believe. She thought back to when they dated. She thought of the sweet, quiet, slightly cocky youth he used to be. This cold, heartbreakingly handsome man couldn't possibly be that boy.

As she slowly crept closer hoping maybe to sneak through the doors before he noticed her presence, she couldn't tear her eyes from him. It really had been a long time since she had seen Ryoma…she had missed him. Though she was loath to admit it, she had been miserable without him.

She would never tell him though. He didn't deserve to know that she had cried over him. It was his fault their relationship ended.

Though as she saw Moose pounce on Ryoma, she winced, it looked like it hurt; he'd done that to her a few times. She winced again as Momo ran up and started speaking drunken nonsense to him.

But she nearly turned tail and ran when his molten gold gaze turned to her.

She watched wearily as his expression went from shock, to horror, to disgust and full-out rage, all in a few seconds.

Each step she took felt heavy and lead filled; each feeling like one step closer to doom. She got to the staircase and looked up at him; his head high, shoulders squared, a contempt-filled sneer aimed down at her.

"I see Momo picked up some trash on the way here." He mercilessly stated.

She said nothing and kept her gaze downward. "Is Momo's wife coming?" He surprised her by asking.

She quickly looked up to meet his fierce gaze. "N-no she's-"

He turned around and cut her off. "Fine, no need for me to wait around then." He then strolled toward the doorway, just as he was about to enter, he paused and called loudly over his shoulder, seemingly talking to no one.

"Hey Al; the attack dogs aren't still out, are they?" He turned and gave her one last condescending smirk before entering the house and closing the door with a slam.

--

He knew that was childish, but it made him feel better nonetheless.

The dogs weren't really out. And besides with the way they were spoiled they would probably demand belly rubs before they'd ever attack her…

…he wouldn't really let anything hurt her.

Ryoma had felt pretty good looking down at her from the top of those stairs. It may have been sort of accidental, but it helped ease his raging emotions. It was symbolic of the way it should be. She _should_ be looking up at him, while he looked down at her.

But then _she_ had to go and look down. Why couldn't she just look him in the eyes? He _hated_ that, even when they were going out—

He shook his head to clear it. He had to stop his train of thought; his thoughts were traveling towards dangerous territory.

When he turned toward the front room he saw Momo was currently 'sobering up' with a nice hot cup of coffee and a cold washcloth on his head, courtesy of his maids.

He started toward him, fully intending to have a talk with him, specifically about the female that currently stood by the bottom of his staircase.

He didn't get far however before he tripped over the very large and furry mass of a dog laying on his back and blocking the hallway.

He glared at the animal from his no-longer upright position on the floor. "I'm getting a bit sick of you." The Great Dane gave him a toothy grin in response.

He realized he had better things to do than get mad at a dog and was back on his feet and into the front room.

Momo sat slurping the coffee tentatively; one hand gently massaging his temples. He looked up when Ryoma entered the room, his gaze apologetic.

"Sorry man, guess I had a lil' too much t'drink." He mumbled and managed an uneasy grin. There was still a slight slur to his words, but that was the only indication that there currently was to his previously drunken state.

"Ah it's fine. I've gotten drunk on a plane before; it's no big deal." He said bracingly, trying to keep his mind off the person behind the door.

"No, you know me; I'm not normally like this. It's just ever since the wedding…" he broke off and looked around with a sudden panicked clarity. It was like he was seeing where he was for the first time and was scared.

"You okay, Momo?" Ryoma questioned worriedly. "Are you hungry? I could-"

"Where's Sakuno?" He interrupted wildly. He dropped his empty mug, where it bounced harmlessly under the coffee table. He then quickly jumped to his feet, looking around like a mad-man.

Seeing Momo in his crazed state Ryoma could do nothing but answer him truthfully.

"She-She's outside." He said bewilderedly, pointing his thumb in the hitchhiker's position toward the door.

In a second Momo was sprinting toward the entranceway and vaulted over the large dog; that, sensing the commotion, had scrambled to its feet. In another second he had reached the door and wrenched it open. Ryoma followed quickly behind him, confusion clearly etched on his face.

--

He was lying.

She just _knew_ he was lying about the attack dogs.

…She had climbed up the tree for purely recreational purposes.

Or that was her excuse when Momo and Ryoma suddenly flew out of the house looking like bats out of hell.

Sakuno had felt undignified while she was clawing up the tree with peach-painted nails and bare-feet (she obviously wasn't going to climb in heels, besides they might distract the dogs --if they really existed that is). But when they showed up and saw her looking like a reject squirrel with her legs trembling and her arms locked around the young oak on the front lawn, she felt she had hit a new low.

She forgot her embarrassment when Momo sprinted up to the tree and practically ripped her out. She would have scolded him for it if he hadn't crushed her to his chest and let out a strangled sob.

In that instant she felt horribly guilty. She was here for Momo after all, but in all the excitement of seeing Ryoma again she had forgotten that. She was worrying about her own problems while poor Momo was still suffering emotional trauma.

She wriggled in his grasp until she could free one of her arms and she rubbed his back in soothing circles.

"Sorry, I should have warned you that I…was staying back to help the man with the bags. I wouldn't leave you Momo."

"S'okay." He mumbled in response. He then released her from his grasp until he held only her hand, which he kept a very firm grip on.

--

When he had first run out the door and seen Sakuno half-way up the oak on his front lawn, he had to resist the urge to laugh.

But that urge dissipated when Momo ran up and yanked her down like he was harvesting fruit. If that wasn't weird enough he then squashed her against him and started crying! Ryoma was extremely confused.

But when Sakuno started rubbing his back and speaking to him in that soft voice of hers, he felt an old surge of jealousy.

Then they stood up and were holding hands, he could barely control himself. He marched up and snatched Sakuno's free hand and began to yank her toward the house. He desperately tried to ignore the jolt of electricity that seemed to spark up his arm the moment he touched her.

Sakuno was surprised at how soft his grip still was even after all the years he'd been playing tennis. She tried to suppress the blush that rose to her cheeks.

"Momo will you please give Sakuno and I a minute alone?" Ryoma said before shooting him a vicious glare.

To his annoyance Momo completely ignored him and instead looked at Sakuno with that panicked look that he had on earlier. She nodded her head in response and started reassuring Momo that she would indeed be back in a few minutes—he could even watch them. She promised that she and he wouldn't go anywhere without consulting Momo first.

Momo relented nervously and finally released his vice grip on Sakuno's hand. Ryoma then continued to yank her angrily toward the door until they were out of Momo's hearing range.

"What the hell is going on here?" He snarled in a stage whisper, not wanting Momo to hear them talking despite their distance. "What's wrong with Momo?"

She looked pensive for a minute. "Momo is a bit…unstable right now. He really needs his best friend." She threw him what she hoped was a winning smile but he continued his angry glare down at her.

Honestly he didn't know what else to do. His emotions were going haywire as it was, with her showing up and sending his head into overdrive. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact she was here at his house, standing right next to him. It seemed like a dream…

…But it wasn't for him obviously, it was for Momo.

He grimaced at the bitter taste he suddenly had in his mouth.

"What happened?" He grumbled.

She hesitated for a second before she gave him a very careful reply. "He…he was left at the alter by …you know…" She trailed off, feeling unable to break the taboo they had placed over her name in the past few weeks.

Ryoma faced twisted into pure shock. "What? ...How did that happen? ...I mean they were all over each other when I last saw them…" he didn't even notice when he grabbed Sakuno's other hand and pulled her closer.

She blushed and looked down, not wanting to meet his eyes. "She said that she just couldn't marry him. Momo was devastated. I comforted him after she first left and he kind of…" She hesitated again. "…Attached him self to me. That's why Eiji and everyone suggested that we come here so Momo could get away from things and see you, his best friend."

His eyes darkened as he listened to her explanation, by the time she was finished his lips twisted into a bitter smile. "She…left him?" He questioned, with a morbid expression. "That must have been horrible." He pulled away from her quickly and sauntered toward Momo. "I imagine he's been in pain."

Sakuno continued to stare down at the ground and withdrew into herself.

--

Ryoma immediately took Momo under his wing; he dragged his best friend everywhere he went. His was driven by nothing more than the desire to ease his best friend's mind away from the sorrow of loss.

Unfortunately in doing this Ryoma had to spend time with the woman who left him.

He didn't appreciate this horrid twist of fate and dealt with it accordingly; he ignored her totally. That was the way things were unfolding when his manager walked into the fancy five star restaurant at which they were dining. Sakuno was hiding in a corner, trying to be inconspicuous, while Momo was making that very difficult with the way he kept throwing her nervous looks from a table away where he and Ryoma sat. Ryoma was ignoring them both and hiding behind a pair of very large sunglasses to keep people from recognizing him. The glasses were tipped to the edge of his nose while he looked over the menu with a critical eye. When he heard his name being called he quickly flipped the glasses up and looked around angrily.

Bobby gave him a curious look. "Why are you incognito? You doing something shady? I warned you to consult me before you pulled some publicity stunt again."

Ryoma gave him an angry glare before yanking his manager down into the empty chair next to him. "Shut up, I don't want anybody bothering my guest." He then gestured toward Momo who gave the man nervous sort of wave and glanced backward for the millionth time that day.

Ryoma was ready to smack him. He considered himself a patient man but he had been pushed well past his limits today—and it was only their first day here!

He was exhausted from forcibly dragging the reluctant Momo everywhere he went and he was emotionally spent from having to deal with Sakuno's reappearance.

"Hey Momo, how was the wedd-" Bobby started with a friendly tone.

Ryoma, despite his exhaustion whipped around and smacked his hand over Bobby's mouth and repeated himself. "I said I don't want _anybody_ bothering my guest." He gave him the chilling look that he usually reserved for the paparazzi.

Bobby, who had an increasingly red handprint blooming across his jaw, glared at Ryoma and answered tersely.

"Fine, when you're ready to talk business, I'll be over there." He raised himself from his seat and stalked darkly over to a table in the corner.

When he saw who was sitting at the table however, his blood ran cold. He carefully approached Sakuno with impending dread. She happened to look up as he was approaching and her gaze twisted into one of irritation.

'_Yeah well the feeling's mutual, bitch.'_ He thought, plastering a smirk on his face.

He strolled up and sat down at the table like he owned the restaurant. "What are you doing here? I thought Ryoma dumped your ass out on the curb." He said in perfect Japanese, while signaling to a waitress and ordering a drink.

"Well, what are you doing here? I thought Ryoma fired you and got some other 'no-talent hack' for a manager." She answered back in a vicious whisper, trying to keep their conversation private.

He answered with a harsh laugh. "Ha! Who told you that? Ryoma's daddy?" After he said this, her eyes widened. Then Sakuno's whole body seemed to stiffen with rage.

"I don't have to listen to this." She stated in a low voice, more to herself than anyone. She then made to leave as the waitress came with his steaming cup of tea.

He grabbed her wrist before she could escape. "Don't leave darling, I didn't mean it." He murmured coolly as the waitress set the cup on the table. Sakuno gave him a fake smile as the waitress fixed them with an apprehensive stare.

When the worker left she tried to yank her arm free of his. "Let go of me now before I…I-" She started unsurely.

"You'll listen to me." He said with a hostile look. She stopped struggling and he gave an inward cheer at her submissive nature. "Now, I don't know what the hell happened and I really don't care, but if you don't want any trouble… you better go back where you came from."

Her eyes widened and she smacked his hand away. "You can't tell me what to do…I'll leave when Momo wants me to."

Bobby watched as she walked up to Momo and Ryoma's table and whispered something in Momo's ear. The prince ignored her and diverted his attention toward his drink. Momo nodded his head slowly in response to whatever she had said and stared after her as she headed toward the ladies' restroom.

Though the tennis superstar continued his silent treatment well after she disappeared, Bob couldn't help but notice the way Ryoma ran a hand roughly through his hair.

--

When Sakuno returned and entertained Momo briefly, Ryoma snuck over to Bobby's table. He started by apologizing and explaining the whole situation to him. When he was finished, he gathered up Sakuno and Momo into his limo and they traveled elsewhere. To whatever destination would help take Momo's mind off of the disaster that was his love-life.

It made Bob feel physically ill at the thought. He had worked years to get where he was now. He plotted and schemed his way to the top and he'd be damned if he was going to give it up just because some low-life, wimp-friend of Ryoma couldn't hold a woman on his own.

Bob didn't like this. He had come too far, worked to hard, to be stopped now. He would not loose his control of Ryoma, not because of some little bitch from Japan. Ryoma simply needed to be reminded of the reason why he now hated Sakuno. That's all.

He knew how he could do just that.

--

As soon as he walked through the door to his house he was very nearly trounced by the large dog that was currently residing in his home. Ryoma was able to dodge at the last moment only to find the he wasn't the dog's target.

The canine skidded to a halt right in front of Sakuno and barked happily as she bent down and enveloped the large animal in a hug.

"Wait…that monster is yours?" He questioned, momentarily forgetting that he was in the middle of shunning her.

"Yep!" She chirped happily. "This is my little Moose." She then looked down at the Great Dane with a stern air. "Moose," the dog gave her his full attention. "Sit." Sure enough he plopped down on his rear end and watched her for further orders. She fell to her knees and kissed him on the head. "Good boy." She cooed happily.

"That thing is anything but little." he chuckled despite himself. That lummox was bigger than her; he didn't see how she could control him.

She laughed with him, "I guess, but I remember when he was just a puppy—he was the runt of the litter," She turned back to him and gave him a fond scratch behind the ears. "And now he's the biggest."

"How long have you had him?" Ryoma reached out and patted Moose on the head. He was kind of cute when he wasn't sitting on top of you or tripping you.

"Uhm…" She hesitated. Should she tell him? "Momo got him for me…around three years ago." She chickened out.

"Yeah? How come? Birthday present?" He couldn't help but ask. Why was Momo getting her gifts? Jealousy burned hot in his chest.

"Because..." Here was a chance to redeem herself. "…just because." She said with a smile.

'_I'm a coward.'_ She thought bitterly.

"So where are we sleeping tonight?" Momo questioned cheerfully, making them both jump.

Ryoma grumbled. He had forgotten Momo was even there. "You know where your usual room is Momo; your bags are probably up there already. And Sakuno-" he found he had to repress a shudder as he said her name for the first time in years. He had to forget how much he loved the way her name tasted on his lips. "-you're probably in one of the female guest bedrooms; I'll ask Al."

He completely missed the way both Sakuno's and Momo's eyes widened and how Momo suddenly froze on the spot in fear.

"Ryoma." She said a little frantically. "Wait, can I talk to you a second?"

He didn't miss her tone and looked at her in question. "Sure, what is it?" He mentally smacked himself afterward for how concerned he sounded.

She leaned in closer, giving him a look that begged him for patience and understanding. "You see Momo and me…uh…he's needed me for emotional support…at …_his_ house."

He didn't like where this was going. "So…?" He questioned with gritted teeth.

"So…we've sort of slept…in the same bed." She finished with a pleading look.

--

He still remembered it like it was yesterday.

Things were a little slow for Bob. He hadn't been able to find a real client with some sort of spark—someone who could really draw a crowd. He had been walking through the park. What else was he supposed to do on a Saturday with no work?

He was passing by the tennis courts. This was a new route for him, he usually hated being near any sort of sport. He was still bitter toward the jocks that had pelted kick balls at his groin during a rousing game of dodge ball in middle school.

But that day, as he would later tell reporters, fate seemed to draw him toward the courts. That was when he first laid eyes on Ryoma Echizen.

He saw the good looks and well proportioned body, this was the thing that drew him in—hey, it was his job to find beautiful, talented people. So he walked over to a park bench just outside the court to watch this kid waste his friends, most of who looked to be twice his size and strength. He saw the cocky smirk and heard the snide remarks he put forth when challenging an opponent.

This kid was gold.

He was half drooling when a tennis ball bounced out of bounds and rolled toward his feet.

"A little help?" The boy had called to him. He even had a voice like an angel; he could do nothing but stare, amazed at this fantastic find.

He walked up to Bob and picked up the ball himself with a disgruntled look on his face. "Thanks for nothing." He said with a glare and started to walk away.

"Wait, kid, could I talk to you for a minute?" he had hurriedly called to him.

"Sorry, I only speak Japanese." He said in perfectly clear English. Bob jumped to his feet and started to follow him despite himself.

"Ha _ha!_ You're a funny guy. And I noticed you're also pretty good at tennis…how would you like to be famous?"

The boy turned to him curiously. "Famous, huh? And here I thought you'd lure me into a van with candy."

He gave a loud laugh, trying to be friendly. "I like your style kid. You got a name?"

"Ryoma Echizen." The foreign-ness of his name threw Bob off at first. Then he thought about the promise this boy showed. He could reach out to a global market. He could have this kid's face on billboards everywhere.

"Nice, classy. Japanese you said? I like it. You have a manager?" He asked with a broad grin on his face, excited for the potential of the situation. With Ryoma at his side, the possibilities were endless.

"Nope, and I don't want one." His blatant refusal spun Bob's head the other way for a second.

"Excuse me?" He begged, while trying to keep the incredulity out of his voice.

"I don't want a manager, and I don't want to be famous." With that he strolled easily back to the courts. Not even bothered by the fact that he had carelessly stomped all over a man's dreams.

Well one doesn't simply say 'no' to Robert Smith and go on their merry way. And Bob wasn't going to give up on this kid.

So he began the stalking of Ryoma. He didn't regret it—it was all part of the job. If you didn't follow around your clients…how would you know how to blackmail them into service?

One day in the park, while he was watching Ryoma once again effectively pound his college buddies into the ground at tennis, he amused himself with adjusting the blond wig atop his head and playing with the track suit he had stuffed himself in.

That was when he first heard something miraculous—a music ringtone echoing from Ryoma's gym bag. He watched as Ryoma whirled on the spot from his position on the court, immediately excusing himself, and sprinted over to the gym bag. He saw as the future star dug through the bag for a few frantic seconds until he found his small silver phone and flipped it open to answer it.

Bob couldn't really hear the conversation that followed, but he didn't need to. He had found the thing he needed to 'convince' Ryoma join him. He could tell he did the moment Ryoma answered the phone with a cheerful 'hello, my love'.

So he waited for the perfect moment, which came one day when Ryoma went with his friends to the gym and left his bag open in the locker room. He immediately took the opportunity and slipped the phone out and into his own pocket and sneaking just outside the gym.

He saw that he was correct about Ryoma having a cute little girlfriend as soon as he opened the phone. There pasted on the background was a picture of a petite, auburn haired woman kissing Ryoma on the cheek as he apparently took the picture.

Then he became aware of the fact that it contained no English writing whatsoever. He was more than slightly dismayed (that day he vowed he would learn to speak Japanese). So instead he pathetically clicked around on the many buttons, hoping they would magically lead him to the woman that had apparently captured Ryoma's heart. As luck would have it, the phone did indeed ring and he hurriedly answered, praying that his wish would come true.

"Echizen?" Came the soft, but very distinctly male voice.

"Hi may I ask who is calling?" He questioned, deciding to take advantage of the situation.

"Fuji Shusuke. I sorry, do I have…wrong numbuh?" The young man asked politely in broken English.

"No, uh, I'm a friend of …Ryoma…Bobby Smith is my name." He lied easily— they weren't friends... yet.

"I understand." He said. That was easy…too easy.

"I'm just holding his phone for him." He elaborated.

"Okay." He answered once again; his unassuming tone was really getting to Robert.

"He's playing tennis, you see, and he asked me to hold it for him." He insisted. This guy probably didn't even understand him; he didn't see why he was saying all of this to him.

"He like tennis." The boy responded soothingly.

"Are you and Ryoma close friends?" He questioned, wanting to change the subject.

"Close…? No, he have…friend girl." Fuji seemed to struggle over the phone.

"Friend girl…oh, you mean girl friend? What's her name?" He questioned excitedly. This was better than he could ever hope for; Ryoma's friend was inadvertently leading him to his long sought-after prize.

"Sakuno Ryuzaki."

--

Fuji was in the process of visiting America on…business. He had called Ryoma and invited him to hang out. Ryoma said he would be at the gym in the morning, but would be readily available after lunch. Fuji decided to surprise him by coming to visit the gym.

As soon as he got there he saw something suspicious. Funny, how trouble always seemed to follow Ryoma. He watched as a blonde man, clearly disguised in a fake mustache, rifled through Ryoma's gym bag and took out his small silver phone. He then snuck out of the gym locker room, opened it, and started clicking buttons.

Fuji decided to mess with him.

He called Ryoma's cell number with his own phone and pretended to speak bad English. The man seemed a bit jumpy, so he waited until he let something slip. He did and Fuji was shocked to find that he was the manager Robert 'Bobby' Smith.

Just the man who Fuji had been looking for.

Ryoma had told him about his earlier encounter with the man 'who wanted to make him famous' and Fuji had been startled. He had worked with Robert Smith in the past—he was suspicious of his intentions. Sure enough, here the man was sneaking around to get info on Ryoma. The guy seemed overly excited when he mentioned Ryoma having a girl friend. He had thrown Sakuno's name out carelessly, thinking that she was safe as she was currently thousands of miles away on the other side of the planet.

He would come to regret his carelessness in the years that followed.

--

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis/Tennis no Oujisama. I don't Own Devil's Dance Floor by Flogging Molly (I love this song!)

--

A/n: Well, what do you think? The plot unfurls! What did Bobby do? What about Fuji? Where will Sakuno sleep? Will Moose ever catch his tail? Tune in next time to- Okay, okay I'll stop.

But yeah…are things becoming clearer? I hope you're excited for more!

Bobby is a jerk, sorry to those who liked him…he's not a nice person. And Fuji…well he's a bit suspicious… but he always was. You all raving for more? Tell me what you think!! I want Reviews! I want critique!! Wahh! Give me criticism! I beg of you!


	7. Hunting for Witches

Love is Just a Word

Chapter 7:

"_The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live."_

_~Flora Whittemore_

--

Sakuno wiped her tears away stubbornly as she watched Ryoma board the plane to the United States. He gave everyone a last wave and blew her a kiss before disappearing around the corner.

'_Pull your self together woman!'_ She thought angrily. _'It's not like you're never going to see him again.'_

She left the airport with her grandmother and they drove home in silence.

"When do your classes start?" Sumire questioned, interrupting her thoughts.

"I-in two weeks." She squeaked; her voice was slightly raspy from crying.

"It's your first year of college! Aren't you excited?"

"Of course I am!" She chirped. And she was; it didn't matter how hard she had to work to pay for said classes.

"Grandma, you have to step on the gas; I have to be at the shop in fifteen minutes!" She cried in alarm.

Her grandmother had gotten a bad case of pneumonia about a year ago and was hit pretty hard by it. She was in the hospital for about a month before they released her. 'On good behavior' as Sumire joked. That lengthy visit was pretty expensive and money was tight for them at the moment so she had gotten a job and was helping pay the bills. She took a job at the sports shop where they bought all the equipment for the Seigaku teams.

"No problem! Hang on to your socks, girly—it's about to get a bit bumpy." Sumire howled in response, following it with a light hearted cackle.

--

She was about half-way through her shift when who walked into the store but Horio.

"Long time, no see!" She giggled jokingly as soon as she saw him.

"Yeah; I haven't seen you since…this morning." He replied as he approached the counter she stood behind. Which was a correct estimate; all of Ryoma's friends from the tennis team had come to wave him off as he got on the plane. She had seen Horio, but they hadn't had much of a chance to talk.

Thinking about Ryoma's departure made her feel lonely again. This must have shown on her face because Horio patted her head comfortingly.

"Don't worry; he'll be back before you know it. This should be a welcome break for you…hell, I don't even hang out with the guy as much as you do and I'm already sick of him." He joked.

She gave a halfhearted laugh but slowly brightened at his effort to cheer her up.

"So…" Horio started after there was a pleasant lull in the conversation. "Have you heard much from Tomo-chan lately?" Sakuno winced.

She and Tomoka weren't exactly on speaking terms at the moment.

After freshmen year, Tomoka started hanging around with friends that Sakuno didn't exactly approve of, so they had a sort of 'falling-out'. They remained civil to one another; not interfering in the other's affairs and keeping up polite conversation when necessary…that is until they ran into each other a week before graduation. They had a casual greeting on the street and started talking about their plans after graduation. She was shocked to learn that Tomoka didn't plan on going to college. She wasn't even going to a junior college like Sakuno. She insisted that she had a job and she was just fine with it. Sakuno couldn't help but be outraged. After years of talking with Tomoka and agreeing that it would indeed be a bad idea to _not_ go to college in this day and age, she felt blindsided. Sakuno had hoped that even though so much of Tomoka had changed over the years, she would still maintain that idea.

And there was that other part of her that still hoped they would make up and be friends again; that part had hoped she and Tomoka could regain their friendship by attending college together— after all, it was supposed to be a fresh start.

After she heard that Tomoka wouldn't go to college and that she would rather continue her place in the working force than attend college, Sakuno felt extremely hurt and lashed out at Tomoka.

Tomoka responded in kind and they got into a heated argument. The ending result of which was Tomoka telling Sakuno to 'fuck off' and insisting that it wasn't any of her business what she did with her life.

Sakuno was depressed the week after. It took Ryoma's offer to have a 'talk' with Tomoka (which she turned down vehemently) to get her to turn her thoughts elsewhere. She still hadn't talked to Tomoka since that day, so she could offer no information of her whereabouts.

Horio nodded in understanding when she told him this.

Tomoka hadn't been very nice to him since she started hanging out with other friends; the fact that he still wanted to be with her after all the years he had been rejected and insulted was commendable.

Horio had come from a well-off family like most of the Seigaku attendee's so of course it was no surprise that he was attending 'some frou-frou private college' as Tomoka had so eloquently phrased. Sakuno hadn't really understood this remark since Tomoka had come from just as nice a life-style as Horio. Since when was a private college anything special? Sakuno was the only one of their group who had ever had money trouble in the past --she was allowed to attend Seigaku purely because her Grandmother was a renowned teacher there.

Horio and Sakuno continued to talk for a short while about other things such as school supplies and classes they were looking forward to. Then Horio said he had somewhere he needed to be and Sakuno waved him off. She finished the rest of her shift at the shop with few mishaps and she aided the manager in closing up the shop for the night.

She was walking down the quiet, city sidewalk, with the yellowish streetlights glaring down at her. She felt her heart beat accelerate slightly when there was a rustle from down an alley. She chose this moment to remember that this was the first time she was walking home from work by herself.

Ryoma had always insisted upon walking her home when she had a night shift like she did tonight. _'Great,'_ she thought venomously _'Now I'm scared _and_ lonely.' _

She hurried around the corner that she had mentally marked as the 'halfway to home' point. One of the yellowish streetlights flickered over head which spooked her and caused her to break into a trot. _'The sooner I get home, the better.'_

Then she heard something that made her blood run cold and her heart stop.

Footsteps.

They were much larger and heavier than her own, and following directly behind her. She took a shaky breath. She was being paranoid—it was just someone getting home from work late. She then imagined herself on the headline of a news paper: _"High School Graduate Killed on First Walk Home; her Boyfriend Blames Self—'I thought she could make it on her own, I should have known better'."_

She increased her speed just in case.

She relaxed as the footstep's volume decreased and disappeared altogether. It was in her head all along—she was just nervous walking home by herself for the first time.

Right when she had fully convinced herself that the footsteps probably hadn't even existed in the first place, that it was just her mind playing tricks on her, she heard them again. This time they were coming louder and faster than before.

Sakuno didn't bother concealing her fear this time, she just took off at a dead run.

This was one of the few times in life that she thanked god for Ryoma's hellish, tennis boot-camp. Though every second of it made her miserable, it made her much faster. She got ahead fast and darted around many unfamiliar corners and alleyways; she thought she lost him at one point. But the footsteps kept pounding on behind her resolutely. She was getting tired and losing speed fast. She tripped over a large crack in the sidewalk and landed on her ankle badly. Hot and angry flames of pain seemed to lick up her leg; still she stumbled on desperate to get away. _'I have to find somewhere to hide.' _She thought urgently. She turned down into an alleyway and to her utter dismay saw it was a dead end. She ducked behind a dumpster that had seemingly been long forgotten as it was filled to the brim with rotting compost. She heard the footsteps pounding along and getting ever closer.

To her horror they didn't fly past the entrance to the alleyway as she had hoped but slowed a stop right in front of it.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are pretty baby." A voice called down the alley. It was nasal and had a slimy quality to it.

It made the hair on the back of Sakuno's neck stand on end. Ryoma had called her 'baby' thousands of times before, but now, instead of the warm fuzzy feeling she usually got, her lungs seemed to fill with ice and drop into the pit of her stomach. The walls seemed to close in on her, making her feel even more trapped than she already was.

He stepped further into the dark and forlorn alley which concealed her. He knocked over some trash cans that sat near the edge. "I just wanna play, baby." He called into the darkness that she was swallowed in.

She highly doubted he was talking about cards.

She started formulating a plan, as soon as he got close enough, she would strike. While he was distracted she would run out of the alley and bang on the nearest door and ask them for help. It wasn't much, but it was all she had, she was too tired and her ankle was throbbing with an angry vengeance. The only thing that kept her from crying out was the adrenaline buzzing through her veins, loaning her what little strength it could offer.

He crept ever closer and every muscle in Sakuno's petite frame tensed, preparing for action. She counted silently to herself.

_10…_

The man knocked over another trash can.

_8…_

"Baby, I'm getting tired of hide and seek. Come out and we'll have fun."

_5…_

He approached the edge of the dumpster that she was hiding behind.

_3…_

His brown boot came into her line of sight.

_2…_

"There you are baby—I should get a prize for finding you."

_1…!_

She launched herself into action and swung her uninjured leg as hard as she possibly could into his shin.

He gave a strangled cry and she took the opportunity to leap up and hobble toward the entrance to the alley.

She was almost back under the streetlamp when she felt a rough tug on her pigtail. She gasped and stumbled backward in pain, the man yanked her into his waiting grasp and she felt large, meaty arms enclose her. She felt his sticky body pressed against her back, smelled the stale sweat and alcohol that made up his scent, heard the heavy, husky way he was breathing. The darkness seemed to close in on her again; the streetlight pulled back and became further and further away.

The ice that had coated her throat earlier suddenly seemed to crack—she found her voice.

Then she screamed. She screeched like a banshee. She howled like a frightened animal. She turned and clawed at her attacker's face, all while shrieking loud enough to wake the dead.

She was roughly slammed against the wall of the alleyway. All of the wind was knocked out of her and she was suddenly gasping for breath. Her head cracked against the brick and stars flashed before her eyes.

"Shut up, you stupid bitch!"

She felt his hands slip under the hem of her shirt and pushed away desperately, but she was suddenly very weak. She tried to scream again but her throat had locked with fear again. She felt like things were closing in again—everything was going black. She felt a buzzing at the back of her head as her entire body thrummed a silent symphony of pain.

The last thing she registered was the immense weight being pulled off of her and the melodious voice of an angel.

"Saku-chan?!"

--

She awoke in a dimly lit room, feeling achy all over. The first thing she was aware of was the bandages tightly wrapped around her head. She tentatively touched them while she tried to pull herself into an upright position. She heard soft music playing in the back round. It was some strange foreign beat and tune tickling her ears just out of her understanding.

_Bum bum bedum bum bum bedum bum_

_What's wrong with me?_

_Bum bum bedum bum bum bedum bum_

_Why do I feel like this?_

_Bum bum bedum bum bum bedum bum_

_I'm going crazy now_

_Bum bum bedum bum bum bedum bum_

She then became aware of the fact that she was laying on what looked like two tables pushed together. She sat up quickly and became dizzy, everything blurred for a second before she was able to clear her head.

Then she heard a quiet sniffle and whirled her head around, despite the pain to see where it was coming from.

She saw a woman hunched over in a chair with her head in her hands, her long blonde hair spilled over her tanned and slender shoulders. She was dressed in nothing but a see-through sort of negligee and Sakuno's first instinct was to blush and look away. She glanced back at the girl and her concern took over.

"Hello…?" She managed to croak, her throat felt like sandpaper. The girl jumped about a foot in the air and looked alarmed as she glanced around the room wildly. When her eyes met Sakuno's she immediately ran over to where she lay atop the two tables.

"Oh my god, Sakuno! I thought you were never going to wake up! Don't scare me like that!" The woman yelled hysterically, while pulling her into a hug.

Sakuno was shocked, this woman sounded like Tomoka!

_It's the thief in the night to come and grab you,_

_It can creep up inside you and consume you_

_A disease of the mind it can control you_

_It's too close for comfort_

"T-t-tomo-chan?" She managed to stutter in alarm.

The woman stiffened before releasing her. "Yeah…" Tomoka replied while pulling away, suddenly looking embarrassed. "It's me…"

_Put on your pretty lies, you're in the city of wonder_

_Ain't gon' play nice, watch out you might just go under_

_Better think twice, your train of thought will be altered_

_So if you must falter be wise_

"But…what happened to your hair?" She insisted while fingering the blonde locks in amazement.

"It's a weave." She answered. "And this is a spray-on tan." she gestured toward her bronzed skin. There was an awkward silence that followed in which Sakuno sat back on the table staring up at her transformed friend in awe.

Tomoka shifted awkwardly from side to side. "Do you remember what happened before you came here? You were jumped in an alley; what are you doing in this part of town anyways?" Tomoka questioned, changing the subject.

The memories of last night seemed to come rushing back to her all at once and she shuddered as she recalled the greasy man crushing her against the wall in the alley.

"I was running away…I guess I got lost…" Sakuno mumbled.

"We'll you're lucky that you ended up where you did, otherwise I don't know wether anyone would have came and helped."

"Why?" She questioned Tomoka, looking horrified.

"Well, this type of thing is a regular occurrence around here…in fact I think you're the third we found this week!" Tomoka gave a forced laugh as Sakuno continued to look up at her fearfully.

"Where's Ryoma anyways? He should have been walking you home…I thought you two were sewn together." Sakuno winced at her words and she suddenly remembered the dull ache of loneliness in her chest.

"He went to college in America…he left this morning…"

Tomoka sensed her discomfort and tried to change the subject. "How's your head? It was banged pretty hard against the wall; you were bleeding really bad…I was worried because they wouldn't let me call an ambulance…"

"I'm okay…" Sakuno questioned once again looking bewildered while tenderly prodding the bandages on her head. "But why wouldn't they let you call?"

"No cops." She answered simply.

"No cops?"

"_No _cops."

_It's a thief in the night to come and grab you_

_It can creep up inside you and consume you_

_A disease of the mind it can control you_

_I feel like a monster, oh_

The was another of those awkward silences that followed, then Sakuno felt brave enough to ask.

"Why are you dressed like that?"

Tomoka looked ashamed she kept her gaze downward. "…because it's my character: Mindy; the 'school-girl-wanna-be pop star'."

"…like…a theatre group…?" Sakuno asked blankly.

Tomoka gave a dry chuckle in response. "Yes, Sakuno; like a really, really, _really_ bad theatre group." Sakuno suddenly got what she meant when she saw sunlight bounce off of something shiny perched atop a stage that was built on the opposite end of the room.

A pole.

"D-d-does your family know about this? Don't they notice that you're working odd hours?" She stuttered, trying desperately to look for some semblance of sanity in her friend's story.

Tomoka kept her head bowed in remorse. "You think that I still live with my family?"

Her head was spinning, she felt disconnected with the ground. Nothing was making sense anymore! She was alone, Ryoma as gone, and now Tomoka was a stripper

"How…how could this happen….?" She begged Tomoka, praying that she was the butt of some sick joke.

"…You know those guys I started hanging around with at school? Well, they all worked here…so I thought it would be fun…music, drinks, dancing…everybody watching me…once you join…you can't just walk away you know." She said this statement with a finality that scared Sakuno.

Before she could even begin to think things through, she became aware of the buzzing that came from the depths of her pocket. She absently picked up the phone and checked it.

It was Ryoma.

She suddenly looked at Tomoka in a panic. Tomoka looked back at her with the same expression. She silently mouthed the words 'please don't tell'

She answered the phone blankly. "Hey R-"

"Where the _hell _are you?!" The howled inquiry made her ears ring. She had rarely heard Ryoma this agitated; the only time she could think of being when Karupin was lost for a week.

"I-I-I'm with..." She glanced over at the terrified-looking Tomoka "-with friends."

"Don't you _dare_ lie to me! I have been calling you for the last three hours; your grandma called as soon as my plane touched down, saying you didn't come home- you know how fucking worried I was?!" She heard how his voice cracked at the end, thick with agony, and she immediately was moved to tears.

"Now tell me the fucking truth!" His voice was shaking as he growled this out. She wished she could hold him and tell him that she was okay and that he didn't have to worry.

"I'm sorry…" She managed to whimper, wiping her tears away on her sleeve.

She heard him sigh over the phone and she sensed he was trying to calm himself. "It's okay…now, tell me the truth. Where are you?" He was trying his best to keep his cool; that much she could tell.

"I'm…" She still hesitated seeing her pleading friend. "I'm being taken care of at Tomoka's house."

"Taken care of?" His voice was sharp. "What happened?"

She decided than that she couldn't keep her terrifying walk home from him. So she told him the whole story in a rush, from leaving the store to running down an alley, to crouching behind a trash can and being slammed up against the wall. By the time she was finished she was slightly hysterical and had tears pouring out her eyes.

Tomoka and hopped up on the table with her at some point in her story and started patting her back comfortingly. This helped in some ways, but in others it just made her more emotional. This was the girl who used to be her best friend, who was now working as a stripper, who saved her life, and who was hanging around with people who didn't want cops around. It felt good to have someone there if nothing else.

"I was lucky because I ran down an alley and Tomo-chan happened to hear me and she saved me! She pulled off that weird man and then she took me …to her place and bandaged me up." She assured him in a hurry.

Though she felt better after telling him, Ryoma sounded twice as agitated when she was done.

"So you and Tomo didn't think to call the police? She just pulled him off and took you home and you let this guy run free?!" At this point he was as close to hysterics as she.

Her eyes suddenly widened, she hadn't thought of that. She turned to Tomoka looking fearful. She placed her hand over the receiver, not wanting Ryoma to hear her answer.

"So that guy just went free?" She questioned. Tomo's eyes widened before she gave a grim nod.

"…I wasn't allowed to call the cops…" She mumbled, looking unsure if that was justification or not.

_Disturbia, it's like the darkness is light_

_Disturbia, am I scaring you tonight?_

_Disturbia, ain't used to what you like_

_Disturbia, Disturbia_

_Bum bum bedum bum bum bedum bum_

_Bum bum bedum bum bum bedum bum_

_Bum bum bedum bum bum bedum bum_

_Bum bum bedum bum bum bedum bum_

The last chords of the strange haunting song echoed into the corners of the empty room. She thought about her answer very carefully before removing her hand and saying very quietly in the receiver. "No, Tomo-chan says she called the police…"

This was the only time she ever lied to him.

A few days later Ryoma would return briefly to Japan to assure himself of her safety. He would refuse to go back home until he was sure that she was okay and made his friends promise to walk her home after work. He would miss his first week of classes.

Sakuno would never tell anyone about Tomoka's job. The elders of the tennis team would find out three months later when they dragged Horio to Club Sterling for his birthday. He would continue to visit her thereafter. Later he would be offered, and would accept, a job as a bouncer after punching a drunken man for trying to grope Tomoka.

He and Tomoka would begin to date four months later as Horio gets into a fight with his parents about his job. They would kick him out shortly after. He would drop out of college and move in with Tomoka.

He would never regret it.

--

The jaws theme song rang a steady tune for a full five minutes before his wife and love of his life yelled at him and forced him to answer the phone.

Nanjiro adjusted his yukata with a huff before reluctantly taking his cell phone from his dear wife's hands and answering it.

"Yeah?" He barked roughly, his beloved frowned before leaving the room. He thought about just hanging up then, but decided against it.

"Master Ryoma requested that I call and inform you that he has visitors from Japan coming to see him. Inform us of a date and time when you are free and Ryoma will arrange for a meeting."

"Why not call ?" He questioned snappishly. "She's the one with all the plans." It somehow put him in worse mood that it was a butler instead of the spoiled brat himself.

"Master Ryoma himself tried, but she wouldn't pick up. So he asked me to inform you instead." The elder Echizen rolled his eyes at both his son's and his wife's antics.

They thought he was the immature one.

"Well I'm pretty busy, but I'll see if I can find the time." He answered crisply.

"I'll inform Master Ryoma, Good day to you sir."

As soon as he hung up, rudely cutting off the butler's salutations in the process; his darling wife was at his side.

"What do you have to do Nanjiro? You mostly sit around the house as it is; what plans could you possibly have?"

"Well, I plan to not be tricked into answering any more phone calls from _him_ for starters." The middle-aged, ebony haired woman frowned again at him. "Your plan was foiled anyway; he had his butler call."

She gave an unhappy grunt in response and ran a frustrated hand through her bobbed hair cut, a gesture that bore an uncanny resemblance to his son. "Why are you two so stubborn? What happened to the days when we were a family?" She questioned sharply, She looked close to tears.

As bad as he felt about upsetting her, he didn't intend to have a heart-to-heart with his estranged son any time soon.

"Uncle, you should really sit down with Ryoma and talk this out. I could give you a free session if you want?" He started when a third suddenly joined him and his wife.

"Nanako! When did you get here?" he questioned the bookish looking individual that was his niece.

"Ryoma called me and I thought I'd drop by—I figured that you would hardly get the news otherwise." She must have come from work because she still had her grey, business, pant-suit on.

"So how are the people from the loony-bin?" He questioned just to annoy her, she reacted as expected.

"Uncle Nanjiro, they are not 'loony' they are mentally disturbed individuals! They are sick people and should be treated as such." She insisted, on her face was the same frown that his wife had. Perhaps Nanako was spending too much time with them.

"Nanako has a point dear; she's a psychologist! She could help you and Ryoma work out your problems with each other." Nanako turned to her aunt with a broad grin on her face.

"Yes, Auntie Rio; I even have I theory; I believe it sprouted from a deep-seated rivalry that began at Ryoma's birth. You see Nanjiro felt that he was losing in a battle for his wife's attention to Ryoma. And Ryoma of course suffered, as many young men do, from an oedipal-type complex--"

"I don't need your psycho-mumbo-jumbo." He interrupted rudely once again. "I know what happened and I know that Ryoma is being an idiot. And that's all I need." He bent and kissed both of the females on their cheeks. "Now if you'll excuse me—I have to meet a friend for tennis."

As he started to gather his belongings for his match (he didn't bother to change his clothes; he would win anyways), his wife called softly to him.

"You will go with to see him this time, right dear?" She questioned, looking hopeful.

He couldn't bring himself to let her down, so he sighed and agreed that he would go with when they visited Ryoma's house.

"It's not like the brat will be there anyways, he'll make sure he has other plans." He mumbled to himself as he exited his home, gym bag in tow.

--

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis/ Tennis no Oujisama. I don't own Jaws. I don't own Disturbia- Rihanna.

--

A/N: Yo! So yeah, another flashback chapter, it was necessary though! Sakuno's having a bit of a rough time. I also go to include Tomoka's past which is good.

So the plot web untangles just a bit more. Thanks for all the wonderful responses and advice from you my lovely reviewers! Please continue to review! They're my blood! I'll be dead without them!! And it's always a pity when blood is spilled.

So I posted the song names and artists in my profile incase you're interested. They're songs that I feel connect with what's happening. Do as you will with them.

That's all for now!


	8. You're Gonna Go Far, Kid

Love is Just a Word

Chapter 8:

"_The jealous are troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves." _

_~William Penn_

"_Any emotion, if it is sincere, is involuntary."_

_~Mark Twain_

--

_Show me how to lie, you're getting better all the time_

_And turning all against one is an art that's hard to teach _

_Another clever word sets off an unsuspecting herd_

_And as you step back in the line a mob jumps to their feet_

Ryoma had sat, quietly stewing half the night, unable to sleep for the dreams but too exhausted to do anything but lay in bed.

_Now dance, fucker, dance, man, he never had a chance_

_And no one ever knew it was really only you_

Of course he wanted to fight, to do something, but what could he do? His enemy was his best friend and they were fighting for something he lost a long time ago. He knew he shouldn't care, but he did! He felt like he was losing again, but this time it was right before his eyes.

_And now you steal away_

_Take him out today_

_Nice work you did_

_You're gonna go far, kid_

So he had found the energy to roll out of bed, turn his large boom-box around toward the wall and switch the volume on to a deafening level. He then grabbed a Ponta out of the mini-fridge, cracked it open, took a sip and pointed the remote at the stereo.

_With a thousand lies and a good disguise_

_Hit 'em right between the eyes, hit 'em right between the eyes_

_When you walk away, nothing more to say_

_See the lightning in your eyes, see 'em running for their lives_

He thought he might have heard a small scream over the music, maybe a couple of barks or howls, but otherwise, he couldn't tell if she was getting the message.

_Slowly outta line and drifting closer in your sights_

_So play it out I'm wide awake, it's a scene about me_

_There's something in your way and now someone is gonna pay_

_And if you can't get what you want, well it's all because of me_

This pissed him off even more.

_Now dance, fucker, dance, man, I never had a chance_

_And no one even knew it was really only you_

He turned up the volume to his stereo to the top-most notches. He hoped she was as miserable as him.

_And now you'll lead the way_

_Show the light of day_

_Nice work you did_

_You're gonna go far, kid_

_Trust deceived_

_--_

Sakuno was miserable.

_With a thousand lies and a good disguise_

_Hit 'em right between the eyes, hit 'em right between the eyes_

_When you walk away, nothing more to say_

_See the lightning in your eyes, see 'em running for their lives_

She was stuck in an uncomfortable position, with Momo uncomfortably close, hidden uncomfortably under a pillow, because the owner of the house was uncomfortable with her sleeping arrangements.

To say the least, she was not comfortable.

_Now dance, fucker, dance, he never had a chance_

_And no one even knew, it was really only you_

_So dance, fucker, dance, I never had a chance_

_It was really only you_

She expected Ryoma to not take kindly to the news of her and Momo sharing a bed, and she wasn't disappointed.

She was surprised however when he did not throw the volcanic temper tantrum that she had expected. He just gave her a look of anger and hurt that made her blood freeze and her heart stop. Without another word he led her and Momo to a room right next door to his own.

She tried to talk with him. "Please, Ryoma, it's not what you think." She tried while placing a soft hand on his shoulder.

He didn't even dignify her with a glance before shrugging off her hand and going next door to his own room.

She and Momo had wordlessly gotten ready for bed, each taking turns in the private bathroom attached to their room. Then they both got into the large bed, which was the center of the large room. As they wished each other good night and settled themselves in, Moose jumped up and rested at the foot of the bed.

Maybe it was the jetlag, but she couldn't seem to fall asleep. She spent the first half of the night looking around and observing the finer points of the room where they rested. The ceiling was very high; she doubted Momo could even reach it if he jumped on the bed. The walls were a strange, blue-grey the seemed to fill the entire room with a blue fog. This fog turned anything it touched a light blue which surrounded them and seemed to bleed the true color out of everything. Momo had opened the large bay windows before bed because of the heat, so the air flowed freely into their room. The sheer blue curtains swelled inward and outward with the wind, giving the room the illusion of life by its light and sleepy breath.

Did Ryoma pick this paint job? Did he realize how creepy it was? What was he doing right now? Was he sleeping like Momo? Or was he wide awake like herself?

She got her answer unexpectedly as an explosion of sound ripped through the room. She jumped a foot in the air and gave a cry of fright. Moose, who was startled both by the sound and her movement, rolled off the bed in surprise and began a chorus of bewildered howls, with his hair standing on end. Momo remained, astonishingly, asleep.

She realized quickly where the music was coming from and steadied her racing heart beat. She soothed Moose into silence before beckoning him back onto the bed. She patted him until his fur settled and her hands stopped shaking. She tried to ignore the sound after that, knowing that Ryoma was trying to provoke her into going over there and starting a fight.

She refused to comply; he wouldn't even understand why she was upset. No, he would never understand the memories he had just brought back.

She hugged Moose close and he licked her cheek in silent understanding.

--

Ryoma stomped down the stairs toward the large dining room, where his breakfast already awaited him. He nodded to a butler, who stood dutifully in the corner.

He looked away a bit peevishly.

Any other morning Ryoma might have asked why he was in a bad mood, but he was too tired to care. He collapsed into the large chair at the head of the table. He smacked his forehead on the table in exhaustion.

Stupid woman. Why did she have to keep him up? This all could have easily been settled if she just slept in her own room, without Momo, or better yet, his—

No. He was being stupid. He shook his head for emphasis and then dug lazily into his breakfast.

He was nursing a second cup of coffee when he heard a loud pounding coming from the stairs. A second later Moose trotted happily into the dining room and headed straight for the tennis prince. Ryoma was more than surprised when the dog stuck his large head in his lap and began sniffing. He pushed the large head away in embarrassment as he saw the butler snickering in the corner. "No, bad dog!" He said firmly.

Moose sat back on his rump in response and looked up at Ryoma with his sad blue eyes. The star athlete and Wimbledon champion was helpless against the heartbreaking stare and tossed the dog some scraps from his plate.

"Moose! No begging!" A familiar female voice called behind him.

He turned and saw Sakuno, with a stern expression adorning her face. She was wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and red sweater with the name of a popular store written on it in Japanese.

Her eyes met his and both of them said nothing. After a minute or so of awkward silence Sakuno walked up to Moose and clipped a leash onto his collar. She turned to him, refusing to meet his gaze. "I have to take Moose out…is there any place I could go?"

He hesitated for a second, deciding weather or not to continue ignoring her. He saw the butler step from the corner toward Sakuno while rolling his eyes.

That was when he realized how childish he was being, he was giving her the silent treatment for Christ's sake!

The servant tapped her on the shoulder and began speaking politely in English. "Miss, if you want to take out your dog, you may—" Sakuno had a very bewildered look on her face that made him wonder weather or not she could comprehend any English.

"Take him out back where the other dogs are." Ryoma interrupted, giving Sakuno a break and bringing Japanese back into the conversation. She and the butler both turned to him, one looking grateful while the other looked mildly taken aback. "The door is through the kitchen, I'll show you." Ryoma said as he rose from the table.

Sakuno followed him with Moose in tow, a bemused, but relieved expression on her face.

--

It was awkward, and Sakuno could barely take it.

She and Ryoma sat together on the back porch and watched as Moose ran around the huge back yard with Ryoma's dogs.

She had tried to start a conversation, really she had. He had merely offered her grunts or nodded in response, so she had given up. Just as she felt she was going to go crazy, he broke the silence.

"How'd you sleep last night?" Ryoma said with such a passé tone she almost believed he knew nothing about the music.

…did he seriously just ask her that? Did he really not know how she slept, when he had blasted music into their room till dawn!? So that's how he wanted to play it.

"Not so well, actually." She said with a sugary sweet voice.

She saw his mouth turn upward in a small smirk. "I'm sorry to hear that. Anything I could do to help?"

She felt her eyebrow twitch in aggravation. "Maybe you could turn down your music a bit?" She questioned boldly.

"You heard that? I'm so sorry! I was doing my normal midnight workout; I didn't think anyone could hear me!" He said with a regretful tone, and she noticed he was barely containing a smirk.

There was a scoff behind them and they both turned. A new butler that Sakuno did not recognize stood in the doorway to the kitchen, holding a pile of dog bowls. He stomped out to the yard and laid the food bowls on the ground as the pack ran up to him eagerly. "I had the cook arrange one for Moose too, Miss Sakuno." He said in perfect Japanese.

"Oh, Th-thank you!" She said in surprise. She thought that the staff could only speak English.

He gave her a kind smile. "I'm Alfred, come to me if you need anything. I'm the only staff member here who speaks any Japanese, so I'll help you out." She smiled thankfully. That had been something she was worried about since her English skills were not up to par at all.

Alfred suddenly turned to Ryoma, a mean look in his eyes. "Master Ryoma, if you don't mind me saying; I think you should forgo your _'normal'_ midnight workout. It's keeping the staff awake and sleepy workers are not happy workers." He finished with a sneer. Neither Ryoma nor Sakuno missed the way he emphasized 'normal'.

Ryoma glared and replied. "I think I will Al, thanks for your advice. Don't you have some dog shit to pick up?" He sneered in return.

Al grabbed a pooper scooper and walked out to the yard with as much dignity as a person could have in his position.

"I could pick up after Moose." Sakuno called, suddenly getting to her feet.

"No, no, Miss." Al said serenely. "This is what I'm paid for." She frowned but sat back down on the porch. She felt bad for taking advantage of his hospitality.

Silence returned between them so Sakuno got a better chance to observe the guard dogs. There was a German shepherd, an American Pitbull Terrier, a Boxer, two Akitas, a Doberman pinscher, and two Rotweilers, one female and one male. All of the canines represented powerful breeds; each bigger and meaner looking than the next. They were police dogs, guard dogs, fighting dogs; the kind of dogs you see mauling people on TV. But they seemed harmless; as soon as they saw Ryoma they had run up to him and demanded belly rubs. They took to her and Moose immediately and her Great Dane began running around and playing with them in the backyard without pause.

"Are all of these your dogs?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah." Ryoma answered blandly. "Why?"

"Well, they seem so nice, for guard dogs, that is." She said tentatively.

"I hand-picked them as puppies and trained them myself. I wanted them to look intimidating, not to actually be vicious." He said looking out over his little family of dogs.

"When did you get them?" She questioned.

"About three years ago, when reporters started hanging out around the house." He said as if it was an everyday occurrence, which for him it probably was. "It was also after Karupin died." He added wistfully.

"He died? I'm so sorry Ryoma." She said sadly. He loved that cat, and she was sad too. They spent many a day at his house dangling cat toys in front of Karupin's face.

"Its okay; he was over twenty years old. It's not as if he was taken before his time." Ryoma forced a chuckle. "Besides I have eight dogs that I've loved since I bought them." She could tell he was changing the subject, which was fine with her.

"Except for Lady; I didn't buy her; I rescued her from off the streets." Ryoma then pointed to the female Rotweiler. "She was sort of tricky to train; she bit a lot, probably because she was abandoned. She was still a good dog though, so I couldn't give up on her. She was the perfect addition to the family too, because Bear, the other Rotweiler, was kind of anti-social. She got Bear out of his shell. Those two are inseparable now." Sakuno's eyes widened. He rescued a dog? That was so nice. He also had the patience to train her and didn't give up because his other dog liked her. That was more like the sweet Ryoma she remembered.

"Moose was a rescue dog too." Sakuno admitted carefully. "Momo rescued him and his brothers and sisters from an abandoned Puppy mill." Momo was a police investigator, so when a squad was called because of a lot of howling coming from a warehouse, he followed the call to the scene of the crime. When he got there he saw the hundreds of sickly dogs stuffed into small cages and he helped rescue every single one. "Momo gave him to me….after..." She hesitated, why couldn't she say it? She took a deep breath.

--

"After what?" Ryoma questioned.

"After…Momo busted the owner." She finally said and looked away.

There was more, he could tell. She wasn't telling him something and it bothered him.

He was about to question her further, when the door from the kitchen burst open and out walked Momo.

"Here you guys are! I knew Sakuno was taking Moose out, but I had no idea where you were Ochibi." Momo said with a nervous laugh, obviously trying to cover his discomfort.

"Sorry man, I was just showing Sakuno the dogs." Ryoma apologized. He had forgotten, Momo was a wreck right now and they weren't supposed to leave his side.

"So what's up for today? You want to hop in the pool? Go around town? Buy me a brand new car?" Momo said with a smirk.

"Can't today; I have work to do. Unlike some people, I'm not on vacation." With that he stood up and brushed off his clothes. He gave all of his dogs a couple of pats on the head while turning to Momo and Sakuno. He saw Momo looking nervous again and Sakuno, who still wouldn't meet his eyes at the moment.

"Did you guys want to come with?" As soon as he asked he saw Momo's entire face light up.

"Can we?" Momo cried excitedly.

"Yeah, no problem." He said with a smile.

No problem, sure, easier said than done.

--

They had pulled up to the studio and Ryoma was already sick of Momo. He had bounced off the walls ever since Ryoma had said he and Sakuno could come with him to the Photo Shoot he had today.

He had called his manager and said that Sakuno and Momo would be attending the shoot with him. Strangely enough Bobby then said that he couldn't make it. That was weird for him; he usually never missed an opportunity to network with other possible clients.

"So," Momo interrupted his ponderings. "What's up for today? You mentioned a photo shoot?"

"I have an advertising shoot with Crazy Chrissie and then practice after four. You and I can play a few matches if you think you can handle it, Momo." He said with a smirk. Momo immediately got fired up in response.

"Just because you're a professional doesn't mean I can't wipe the floor with your scrawny ass!" Momo crowed in delight.

Ryoma was about to reply, but he was interrupted by the soft voice of the third member of their group.

"'Crazy Chrissie'?" Sakuno questioned tentatively as the three of them walked through the doors to the entrance of the studio.

"RYOMA MY PET!!" A screech of joy echoed around the studio. Suddenly he was pounced upon by a rainbow colored blur. He stumbled and just barely managed to keep his balance. He was wrapped into the vice-like grip of one of the best photographers in the advertising business, Chrissie Thomas. She was dressed in color from head to toe. She had on neon orange, high-top Converse Shoes and rainbow-striped, thigh-high socks. These socks just barely reached her lime green short shorts. Her shorts were half covered by a red tutu that was held up by rainbow-striped suspenders. As if that wasn't weird enough, she wore a pair of sparkling, neon-purple wings on her back; which looked like they had been stolen from a child's Halloween costume. The suspenders were over a white, T-shirt with the words 'Life in Color' written in every color in the rainbow spectrum. To top it all off she wore a rainbow-striped wig and a pair of sparkling, gold, 'deely-boppers' which were bopping very close to his eye at the moment.

He groaned before turning to Sakuno. "Yes, _Crazy_ Chrissie."

He then switched to English so Sakuno could no longer understand him. "Why are you dressed like Rainbow Bright, Chrissie?" He asked while carefully prying the photographer's arms and legs from around his waist.

"Chrissie woke up and ate a bowl of Lucky Charms for breakfast. She saw those cute little marshmallow rainbows and decided that today she would pay tribute to those delicious little rainbows with her body." She said this all as if it was totally obvious and that he was an idiot for not thinking it sooner. He rolled his eyes at her third-person speak; it must be another thing she woke up feeling like. She flipped the hair of her rainbow wig behind her shoulders and looked in his eyes. That's when he saw the false, rainbow eye lashes she had put on and the rainbow stickers she had stuck to her cheeks and forehead.

"Sure, whatever makes you happy." He said with a roll of his eyes. At least it wasn't as bad as the last time he had a shoot with her; she had just watched the movie 'Bedazzled' and she showed up at the set wearing only a red bikini and a live Python.

"Yes, because Chrissie's happiness is essential to the awesomeness of the shoot!" She said a bright grin adorning her face. "Now, TO THE PRECIOUS, THE CAMERA!!" She shouted importantly with a fist pump. Then with the same suddenness as her entrance, she did a back flip away from him and cart-wheeled down the hall toward the set.

Ryoma was about to follow her when he remembered Momo and Sakuno. He turned and saw two very confused and bewildered people. Both stood there with wide eyes and mouths agape.

He smirked. Chrissie tended to have that effect on people.

--

"A little higher…A little higher…ok, now turn a little…THERE!"

Flash!

Chrissie loved that part, the flash. Chrissie loved watching everything light up for a second and knowing that she had just captured a moment in time.

"Ok, pet." Chrissie said in her usual Chrissie sweetness. "Now Chrissie wants some without your racquet."

Her pet, (a.k.a.: RYOMA ECHIZEN! SQUEE!) dropped his racquet and rolled his eyes with his normal 'grump-ness' and offered her a few poses. Her pet had excellent poses as he always did. Chrissie always thought that he could have been a model. The only thing was he always had the same face!!

Okay, Chrissie exaggerates, it wasn't exactly the 'same', but it was very controlled and cool. She did like her cool pet. But she wanted to see her pet act sorta human-ish at least once in awhile. He was always like a smexy toy. He did whatever Chrissie told him to with that cold, un-alive-ish way. Chrissie said 'smile' and he smirks, she says get mad and he glares. It was all very dead-ish.

But Chrissie was determined! She wouldn't give up on her pet! She would work until she captured a picture of her pet that was very un-dead-ish! ...But not in the Zombie way because Zombies scared Chrissie.

Chrissie soon became distracted with thoughts of Zombies and what her pet would look like as a Zombie. So she began to adjust her precious camera's tripod to try and get an interesting angle that would sell lots and lots of 'pet merchandise'.

Chrissie dropped the tripod way low on the ground and began shooting, making her pet look really tall. After some time she noticed that her pet was distracted, he kept looking over to the side, where her make-up and wardrobe crew seemed to be harassing a petite, auburn haired, Asian woman.

"Sakuno, you are super cute, let us give you a makeover! I promise you'll like it and if you don't, we'll fix it— I totally promise!" Chrissie heard. She liked what she heard because she taught her crew to take advantage every time they saw something beautiful.

"Uh, p-please…I am…not need…clothes…thank you, no." Chrissie listened as the woman struggled to speak. Chrissie guessed she was one of those foreign models. She was probably her pet's new 'chew toy' which was why he couldn't take his eyes off her.

Chrissie sighed, that poor girl; her pet had as many 'toys' as dogs had fleas and Zombies had maggots.

Chrissie again became distracted by the thought of Zombies and what her pet would look like as one while she adjusted her camera, absently listening to the conversation between her pet's chew toy and her make-up crew.

"No need for clothes? You're a lingerie model? That's fine we have some very sexy pieces, would you _not_ like to try them on?" Chrissie heard her crew's devious tone and the way they used the double-negative in the question. How very sneaky.

"Please, no." The chew toy responded innocently.

"You will? Oh goody!" Chrissie looked around in time to see the crew pounce and bully their prey, the poor chew toy, into a changing room. Chrissie rolled her eyes and returned to her precious. She was in the middle of squatting on the ground and popping a new type of lens on her precious camera when she heard it.

A snort. Chrissie's head immediately shot up, looking for a cute, little piggy. But what Chrissie saw was much, much, _much,_ better!

Her pet, THE RYOMA ECHIZEN (SQUEE!), was _laughing_!

Yes, he was definitely laughing. His hand over his mouth, his shoulders trembling, his golden-y eyes alight; _laughing_!

Then he did something even better; something that made Chrissie want to 'SQUEE' until she died from lack of oxygen.

He removed his hand and smiled! SMILED! And it was the most, handsome-ish; most, gorgeous-full smile she had ever before seen in the history of forever! His smexy smirks were nothing compared to this.

Chrissie could hold back no longer and let out a squawk of delight and began snapping as many pictures as her precious camera could hold.

Unfortunately for her, her pet was not stupid so he quickly noticed the flashing light and glared at her with his normal, scary, grump-ness.

"What the _hell_ are you taking pictures of?! You know I get paid _per frame_ right? I suggest you _think_ before you start snapping pictures of anything you want." Her pet growled before grumping himself right off of her set and into his changing room.

Well, Chrissie might have made him mean, but she had just gotten something better than anything she could have hoped for.

Sure Chrissie had snapped it quickly without focusing, sure he wasn't posing or really selling the clothes like he was supposed to and sure he would probably come after her in the dark of some night like some sort of Zombie.

But she had her shot.

Chrissie became distracted for a third time by thoughts of Zombies and what her pet would look like as one while she took apart and cleaned the various lenses and bulbs on her precious camera.

But Chrissie didn't forget the reason she had a large grin on her face or the fact that she was the first photographer to ever get a picture of THE RYOMA ECHIZEN (SQUEE!) smiling!

--

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis /Tennis No Oujisama. I do not own 'You're Gonna Go Far, Kid' by The Offspring. I do not own pooper-scoopers. I do not own Converse. I do not own Halloween or Deely Boppers (well, I do own a pair; but I didn't invent them). I do not own 'Rainbow Bright' (this reference might be a little old for some of the children reading this) or Lucky Charms. I do not own 'Bedazzled' (but I love Brendan Fraser (who I do not own))

--

**A/N:** So what do you think? Is it Awesome-ish? Horrid-full? Blah-worthy? Ha! I'm kidding!

Two quotes today, I thought they both applied nicely so I couldn't help myself.

I have wanted to put in a strange-ish character like Chrissie for a while, so yeah, there she is. Don't expect her to play a big role, cuz her time is pretty much up. But I wanted to move the story along and this was the way I wanted to do it. Well tell me what you think! I want reviews! Please!! Ta ta for now!


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